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gibe  Centung  Social  Science  Series 

FIELD  WORK 

AND 

SOCIAL  RESEARCH 


BY 

F.  STUART  CHAPIN,  Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR  OF  ECONOMICS  AND  SOCIOLOGY,  SMITH   COLLEGE, 

DIRECTOR  OF  THE  SMITH  COLLEGE  TRAINING 

SCHOOL  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK 

Author  of  "An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Social 

Evolution,"  "An  Historical  Introduction 

to  Social  Economy,"  etc. 


' '  \    ]  » ^'  V  \  * 


NEW  YORK 

THE  CENTURY  CO. 

1920 


*JI- 


Copyright,  1920,  by 
The  Centuby  Co. 


y^^^r/ 


TO 

FRANKLIN  HENRY  OIDDINOS 

Great  teacher  and  pioneer  leader  in  the  sdmtific 

ttudy  of  society,  whose  rare  ability  to  arouse 

and  challenge  his  students  thought  has 

stimulated  the  use  of  scientific 

method  in  the  study  of 

social  phenomena 


428631 


PEEFACE 

A  SCIENTIFIC  technique  has  been  developed  in 
the  field  work  of  the  social  sciences.  Scattered 
through  the  reports  of  private  investigating  agen- 
cies and  government  commissions  there  is  a  vast 
amount  of  valuable  information  on  methods  of 
making  scientific  investigations  of  social  condi- 
tions by  first  hand  contact  with  the  facts — that  is, 
by  field  work.  This  book  gathers  together  the 
well  tested  methods  and  techniques  and  attempts 
to  present  them  in  an  accurate  and  practical  form. 
The  treatment  is  not  exhaustive,  yet  it  is  believed 
that  all  of  the  significant  points  are  touched  upon 
with  sufficient  detail  to  make  the  book  useful  as  a 
manual  to  field  workers.  The  theoretical  princi- 
ples underlying  scientific  method  applied  to  the 
investigation  of  social  conditions  are  outlined  with 
sufficient  thoroughness  to  make  the  book  sugges- 
tive to  students. 

The  methodology  of  field  work  is  developed  in 
chronological  order  as  the  reader  follows  the  suc- 
cessive chapters  of  the  book.  The  material  is, 
however,  so  arranged  in  chapters  and  under  text 
headings  and  by  index,  that  the  reader  will  not 
have  to  wade  through  a  mass  of  descriptive  mate- 
rial to  find  some  detail  of  technique  in  which  he 
is  especially  interested. 


PEEFACE 

Actual  field  work  investigations  of  many  differ- 
ent kinds  are  described  in  considerable  detail  and 
the  theoretic  principles  underlying  procedure  are 
so  stated  that  the  practice  may  be  critically  exam- 
ined in  the  light  of  well-established  methods. 

F.  Stuart  Chapin 
Northampton,  Mass. 
May,  1920 


CONTENTS 


PART  I 
THE  APPROACH  TO  FIELD  WORK 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I    The  Place  op  Field  Work  in  Social 

Research 3-18 

Science  Is  Impartial 4 

The  Tasks  of  Science 4-5 

The  Inductive  Method 6-11 

Field  Work  and  the  Inductive  Method  .  11-  16 

Field  Work  in  Social  Research   .     .     .  16-  18 

Selected  References     ........  18 

II    Critical  Examination  of  Document- 
ary Sources  Precedes  Good  Field 

Work 19-45 

The  Sceptical  Attitude  Toward  Docu- 
ments    19-20 

The  Historical  Method 20-21 

External  Criticism 21-  24 

Internal  Criticism 24r-  26 

The  Author's  Good  Faith  and  Accuracy  26-  36 

Summary  of  Principles  of  Criticism      .  36-  38 
Partial  List  of  Common  Documentary 

Sources 38-  45 

Selected  References 45 


PART  II 

SCOPE  AND  ORGANIZATION  OF 
FIELD  WORK 

III    Types  op  Field  Work  and  Their  Prob- 
lems      46-  72 

The  Three  Types  of  Field  Work     .      .  46-  47 

Problems  of  Field  Work 47-51 


X  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

The  Investigation  of  Industrial  Relations  51-  54 

Health  Investigation 54-  65 

Infant  Mortality 65-71 

Selected  References 71-  72 

IV    The  Investigative  Procedure  of  Case 

Work 73-97 

The  Underlying  Logic  of  Procedure      .  74-  79 

The  First  Interview 79-  81 

Sources  Outside  the  Family  ....  81-  87 

Record  Writing 87-89 

Examples  of  Medical-Social  Case  Inves- 
tigation       89-  97 

Selected  References 97 

y  Samples  that  Are  Representative — 
The  Partial  Canvass — Investigative 
PROCEDimE  OF  the  Socml.  Survey     .     98-126 

The  Social  Survey 99-100 

Survey  of  Syracuse,  New  York  .  .  .  100-105 
Survey  of  Springfield,  Illinois  .  .  .  105-107 
Methods  of  Social  Surveys  ....  10Z=vll2 
Examples  of  Representative  Sampling  .  112-116 
The  Theory  of  Inductive  Inference  .  .  116-118 
The   Theory   and  Practice  of  Random 

Sampling 118-121 

Empirical     Rules     for     Representative 

Sampling 121-126 

Selected  References     .     .     .     .     .     .  126 

VI    Complete  Enumeration  of  a  Govern- 
ment  Census — The   Technique   of 

Full  Cajntvass 127-147 

Purpose  and  Scope  of  the  Census  .  .  127-129 
Massachusetts  State  Census  of  1915  .  130-132 
Preparation  for  Field  Work  ....   132-139 

Narrative 139-142 

Supervision  of  Field  Work  ....  143-147 
Selected  References     .     .     .     [.^     .     .  147 


CONTENTS 


PART  III 


/^ 


SPECIAL  PROBLEMS  CONNECTED 
WITH  FIELD  WORK 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

VII    Purpose  and  Preparation  of  Schedules 

FOR  Field  Work 148-192 

The  Schedule  a  Mechanical  Aid  to  Ob- 
servation    149-156 

The  Form  of  the  Schedule  ....  156-164 
Arrangement  of  Inquiries  ....  164-167 
Content    and    Phrasing    of    Inquiries: 

Definition  of  Units 167-172 

Content    and    Phrasing    of    Inquiries: 

Phrasing  of  Questions 172-175 

Quantitative  Expression  in  the  Schedule  176-185 

Summary  of  Principles 186 

The  Schedule  as  Determined  by  Practice 

in  Tabulation 186-187 

The  Questionnaire  Method  ....  187-191 
Selected  References 191-192 

VIII    Editing,  Classification,  Transcribing, 
Tabulation  and  Interpretation  of 

Field  Work  Data        193-219 

Editing  Schedules 194-197 

Classification 197-203 

Transcribing 203-205 

Tabulation  and  Interpretation  of  Data  .  205-218 
Selected  References  on  Statistics     .      .  218-219 

Index      .     .     .    , 221-225 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


151, 


1.  Lot  card  used  in  housing  investigation     , 

2.  Lot  card  used  in  housing  investigation     . 

3.  Family  schedule  used  in  investigation  by 

Health  Insurance  Commission  of  Illinois 

4.  Schedule  used  in  investigation  of  infant 

mortality  by  U.  S.  Children's  Bureau    . 

5.  Population  schedule — male  card     . 

6.  Population  schedule — family  card  . 

7.  Housing  schedule — ^house  card  .  150- 

8.  Multiple  house  card       .... 

9.  Portion  of  a  questionnaire    . 

10.  Commons'  dwelling  house  score  card 

11.  Score  card  for  manner  of  living  . 

12.  Questionnaire   sent   to   employer    . 

13.  Questionnaire  sent  to  labor  unions 

14.  Census  punch  card 

15.  Tabulation.     Arrangement  A    . 

16.  Tabulation.     Arrangement  B    . 

17.  Frequency  table,  incorrect  arrangement 

18.  Frequency  table,  correct  form  . 


PAGES 

12 
13 


56-  58 

68-  69 

134 

135 

152-153 

158-160 

165 

178-181 

184 

189 

190 

206 

209 

210 

216 

216 


PAET  I 
THE  APPKOACH  TO  FIELD  WOEK 


FIELD  WORK 
AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

CHAPTEE  I 

THE  PLACE   OF  FIELD   WORK  IN   SOCIAL  EESEAECH 

Disinterested  examination  of  contemporary  so- 
cial facts  is  rare.  Only  in  recent  years  has  the 
study  of  social  conditions  begun  to  be  scientific 
instead  of  sentimental.  The  very  complexity  of 
causation  which  lies  back  of  social  problems  has 
often  discouraged  painstaking  analysis  and  defied 
systematic  investigation.  Prejudice  and  super- 
stition still  hamper  and  frequently  prevent  an  im- 
partial examination  of  things  as  they  are.  Al- 
though, as  Keller^  says,  *^A  man  can  count  the 
legs  of  a  fly  and  report  his  findings  without  hav- 
ing his  heart  wrung  because  there  are  too  many 
or  too  few,'*  when  it  comes  to  social  facts,  disin- 
terested study  is  difficult  because  of  the  strong 
emotional  coloring  of  everything  that  is  estab- 
lished and  traditional.  Controversies  about  so- 
cial problems  usually  give  rise  to  more  heat  than 
light. 

1  Keller,  A.  G.— "Sociology  and  Science,"  The  Nation,  vol.  102, 
No,  2653,  p.  475. 

3 


'^:  ^''PIELD  WGiiK  AND  SOCIAL  KESEARCH 


SCIENCE   IS   IMPAETIAL 

Scientific  study  of  social  conditions  is  needed  to 
discover  truth.  The  scientific  student  of  contem- 
porary social  relations  should  strive  to  brush  aside 
these  obstacles  of  emotional  bias  and  objectify  the 
approach  to  his  problem  by  eliminating  self  from 
his  judgments.  He  should  provide  an  argument 
which  is  as  true  for  every  other  mind  as  for  his 
own.^  It  should  be  possible  for  any  observer  or 
experimenter  to  arrive  at  the  same  results,  pro- 
vided only  that  he  follows  the  same  method.  The 
classification  of  data  should  also  be  independent 
of  the  individual  thinker.  It  is  in  these  things 
that  the  element- of  universality  which  character- 
izes modern  science  resides.  It  is  this  all-embrac- 
ing, this  unrestricted  adaptability  of  science 
which  makes  it  impersonal  and  almost  devoid  of 
individual  whim,  or  bias  or  prejudice. 

THE  TASKS   OF   SCIENCE 

Science  has  three  tasks:  first,  the  discovery  of 
the  laws  of  natural  phenomena — accomplished  by 
the  use  of  the  inductive  method;  second,  the  dis- 
covery of  causes — accomplished  by  hypothetic  in- 
ference; and  third,  the  prediction  of  effects — ac- 
complished by  the  use  of  deduction.^ 

Science  is  judged  by  its  success  in  the  prediction 

2  Pearson,  K. — Grammar  of  Science,  2nd  Ed.  1892,  p.  6. 
sPeirce,  C.  S. — "A  Theory  of  Probable  Inference,"  Studies  in 
Logic,  Johns  Hopkins  University,  1S83. 


THE  PLACE  OF  FIELD  WORK  5 

of  effects.  In  the  realm  of  physical  phenomena 
the  laws  of  matter  and  motion,  the  laws  of  chem- 
ical attraction  and  of  combination,  have  been  made 
the  basis  of  remarkable  practical  achievements  in 
the  applied  sciences  of  engineering  and  sanita- 
tion. On  the  other  hand  in  the  social  field  its 
students  have  signally  failed  to  predict  effects. 
The  reason  for  this  seems  to  be  that  only  recently 
has  the  inductive  method  been  used  in  the  study 
of  social  phenomena.  Semi-philosophical  gener- 
alizations have  been  hastily  formulated  without 
contact  with  the  facts  and  from  these  glittering 
generalities  deductions  have  been  made  with  scant 
results.  Impatiently  turning  aside  from  pains- 
taking accumulation  of  facts,  social  *^ science'' 
has  inclined  to  the  **  painful  elaborations  of  the 
obvious. ' ' 

Says  Pearson,*  ^^The  unity  of  science  consists 
in  its  method,  not  in  its  materials,''  and  again, 
**It  is  not  the  facts  themselves  which  make  science, 
but  the  method  by  which  they  are  dealt  with." 
The  striking  surface  contracts  in  material — plan- 
ets, bacteria,  beetles,  men,  mice,  elephants,  and 
all  the  rest — catch  our  attention  and  turn  it  from 
the  central  feature  of  inductive  method  which  is 
everywhere  the  same.  Whoever  uses  this  induc- 
tive method  is  scientific  no  matter  what  material 
it  is  that  he  studies,  nor  how  obscure  the  comer 
in  which  he  works. 

*  Pearson,  op.  cit. 


6       FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

THE   INDUCTIVE   METHOD 

The  uniform  steps  of  the  inductive  method  of 
modern  science  are  as  follows : 

(1)  The  working  hypothesis.  The  scientist 
does  not  go  out  and  make  random  and  haphazard 
observations  of  all  phenomena.  He  limits  his 
field  by  adopting  provisionally  some  hypothesis 
which  will  provide  a  systematic  basis  for  selecting 
his  material.  This  brings  his  problem  within 
manageable  proportions  and  saves  time.  Now 
hypotheses  are  often  suggested  by  analogy,  and 
analogies  are  proverbially  dangerous;  but  the 
hazards  inherent  in  the  analogical  method  disap- 
pear when  every  hypothesis  is  subjected  to  the 
acid  test  of  facts. 

(2)  Collection  and  recording  of  facts  of  ob- 
servation is  the  second  step  in  inductive  method. 
The  approach  of  the  student  to  his  facts  should  be 
objective.  The  effort  to  be  disinterested  should 
eliminate  personal  bias.  There  should  be  method, 
system,  orderliness,  in  observing  social  phe- 
nomena. Standardization  of  methods  of  observa- 
tion and  recording  by  permitting  the  comparison 
of  observations  of  different  students  made  at  dif- 
ferent times  and  in  different  places,  contributes 
to  scientific  progress. 

(3)  Classification  of  the  recorded  facts  of  ob- 
servation into  series  and  sequences  throws  light 
on  the  natural  relationships  among  these  facts. 
This  is  the  third  step  of  the  inductive  method. 


THE  PLACE  OF  FIELD  WORK  7 

(4)  Discovery  of  some  short  formula  or  law  to 
explain  the  sequence  of  facts  and  to  express  their 
relationships  is  the  concluding  step  of  the  induc- 
tive method  of  science.  Deductions  from  induc- 
tive generalizations  established  in  this  way  form 
the  reliable  predictions  of  science. 

In  the  oldest  of  sciences — astronomy — the  in- 
ductive method  has  been  used  with  remarkable 
success.  The  position  of  a  certain  planet  was 
carefully  observed  on  a  certain  day  and  the  result 
recorded.  The  observation  was  repeated  at  in- 
tervals on  various  subsequent  days.  When  these 
observations  were  classified  a  record  of  the  suc- 
cessive positions  occupied  by  the  planet  during  its 
course  was  finally  obtained.  It  remained  to  dis- 
cover the  formula  which  explained  this  phe- 
nomena. Kepler  discovered  that  if  it  is  assumed 
that  each  planet  moves  around  the  sun  in  an  el- 
lipse an  explanation  is  provided  which  is  in  pre- 
cise agreement  with  the  observed  facts.  Suppose 
we  observe  the  planet's  position  on  January  1st. 
Knowing  its  rate  of  motion  we  could  calculate  the 
position  it  would  occupy  by  January  14th  by  de- 
termining how  far  along  the  ellipse  it  would  have 
moved  by  that  date.  When  January  14th  arrived 
we  should  find  that  the  calculated  position  and  the 
position  determined  by  actual  observation  agreed 
precisely.  Since  this  test  is  invariably  satisfied, 
Kepler 's  formula  has  been  accepted  as  a  scientific 
law.  In  other  words,  it  satisfies  the  test  of  sup- 
plying reliable  predictions  of  future  events. 


8       FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

Although  great  precision  still  lacks  in  the  field 
of  life  sciences,  certain  laws  have  been  discovered 
which  enable  us  to  predict  effects  within  a  certain 
margin  of  error.  The  monk,  Gregor  Mendel,  has 
given  us  his  law  of  heredity  as  a  consequence  of 
painstaking  experimentation  in  plant  hybridiza- 
tion carried  on  with  the  conunon  garden  pea.  He 
first  determined  what  characters  were  constant 
for  certain  varieties  and  species  and  then  pro- 
ceeded to  cross  one  variety  with  another.  Cross- 
ing was  accomplished  by  dusting  upon  the  stigma 
of  one  variety,  the  pollen  of  a  different  variety. 
In  every  case  he  discovered  that  the  plant  that 
developed  from  such  a  cross  exhibited  only  one  of 
the  two  contrasting  characters  of  the  parent 
plants.  By  crossing  yellow-seeded  and  green- 
seeded  plants  he  obtained  in  the  next  generation 
by  self-fertilization,  6,022  yellow  seeds  and  2,001 
green  seeds,  or  about  three  yellow  to  one  green. 
Crosses  of  round-  and  wrinkled-seeded  varieties 
yielded  in  the  hybrid  generation,  5,474  round  and 
1,850  wrinkled  seeds,  or  again,  the  ratio  of  three 
to  one.  The  hybrids  of  tall  and  short  parent 
plants,  produced  on  self-fertilization,  787  tall 
stemmed  plants  and  277  short  stemmed  plants. 
Mendel  found  the  same  proportions  held  prac- 
tically constant  for  other  characters.  One  trait 
dominated  the  other  in  the  hybrid  generation,  and 
then  persisted  in  the  second  filial  generation  in  the 
ratio  of  three  to  one.  Thus  by  patient  observa- 
tion and  classification  of  the  facts,  Mendel  discov- 


THE  PLACE  OF  FIELD  WORK  9 

ered  a  principle  of  inheritance.  His  explanation, 
or  theory,  held  that  the  reason  for  the  splitting 
of  pure  dominants  and  pure  recessives  from 
hybrid  parents  must  be  found  in  the  composition 
of  the  male  and  female  sex  cells.  If  it  is  assumed 
that  the  germ  cells  are  pure  with  reference  to  the 
constant  character  observed  in  the  original  gen- 
eration, then  the  hybrids  possess  germ  cells  half 
of  which  are  pure  for  one  character  and  half  for 
the  other,  and  it  follows  that  self-fertilization  in 
this  generation  w^ill  produce,  on  the  average,  three 
plants  showing  the  dominant  character  to  one 
with  the  recessive.  Since  this  explanation  agrees 
with  the  facts  and,  within  the  margin  set  by  the 
law  of  averages,  enables  us  to  predict  the  conse- 
quences of  crossings  of  known  contrasting  traits, 
a  scientific  law  of  heredity  of  living  things  has 
been  formulated.  There  is  considerable  evidence 
to  show  that  in  man^  such  characters  as  short 
fingers  and  toes  (brachydactyly),  webbed  fingers 
and  toes  (syndactyly),  and  supernumerary  digits 
(Polydactyly)  are  dominant  over  the  normal  con- 
dition, and  that  in  the  nervous  system,  hereditary 
feeble-mindedness,  hereditary  hysteria,  heredi- 
tary epilepsy  and  so  on,  are  recessive  to  the  nor- 
mal. In  so  far  as  studies  of  this  sort  are  sub- 
stantiated by  additional  evidence,  the  enormous 
importance  of  MendePs  law  for  the  control  of 
human  welfare  becomes  evident. 

5  Conklin,  E.  G.— "The  Phenomena  of  Inheritance,"  The  Popu- 
lar Science  Monthly,  vol.  84,  no.  22,  pp.  440-441. 


10     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

The  German  statistician  Ernst  Engel,  gath- 
ered together  data  showing  the  expenditure  of 
Saxon  working-class  families.  He  classified  these 
figures  as  expenditure  for  food,  rent,  fuel  and 
light,  clothing  and  sundries.  Study  of  this  data 
led  him  to  formulate  the  following  inductive  gen- 
eralizations:  first^  the  greater  the  income,  the 
smaller  the  percentage  outlay  for  subsistence; 
second,  the  percentage  outlay  for  clothing  is  ap- 
proximately the  same,  whatever  the  income ;  third, 
the  percentage  for  lodging  or  rent  and  for  fuel 
and  lighting,  is  invariably  the  same,  whatever 
the  income;  and  fourth,  as  income  increases  in 
amount,  the  percentage  of  outlay  for  sundries  be- 
comes greater.  Students  of  family  budgets  and 
the  standard  of  living  in  America  have  confirmed 
the  first  and  fourth  of  his  conclusions;  but  the 
second  does  not  hold  good,  since  expenditures  for 
clothing  usually  rise  with  increase  in  income; 
while  the  third  is  only  partially  true,  for  the  per- 
centage of  rent  varies  only  slightly  as  income 
rises,  that  for  light  even  less,  and  expenditure 
for  fuel  actually  falls.  Conditions  making  for 
greater  elasticity  and  freedom  in  expenditure  of 
American  families  probably  explain  this  disagree- 
ment. Recently  Ogbum  has  given  mathematical- 
statistical  expression  to  these  principles  of  income 
and  expenditure  thus  stating  them  in  precise  quan- 
titative terms.^    Although  EngePs  ^4aws  of  in- 

6  Ogburn,  W.   F. — in  Quarterly  Pub.  Amer.  Statistical  Assoc, 
vol.  16,  no.  126,  June  1919,  p.  374. 


THE  PLACE  OF  FIELD  WORK  11 

come"  are  not  yet  admitted  to  the  rank  of  scien- 
tific laws,  considerable  progress  in  that  direction 
has  been  made  and  the  validity  of  the  inductive 
method  has  been  established  in  one  of  the  most 
perplexing  corners  of  the  social-economic  field. 

Observation  of  natural  phenomena  under  con- 
ditions of  control  has  been  the  secret  of  the  suc- 
cess of  physical  science.  The  experimental 
method  is  a  tool  of  extraordinary  efficiency.  But 
the  experimental  method  is  extremely  difficult  of 
application  to  social  phenomena.'^  The  number 
and  interplay  of  factors  in  any  social  problem 
make  it  almost  impossible  to  determine  all  of  the 
agents  that  are  at  work,  and  until  the  factors  can 
be  defined  it  is  not  possible  to  control  all  condi- 
tions save  the  one  to  be  measured — and  yet  this  is 
the  sine  qua  non  of  the  experimental  method. 
Progress  in  social  science  is  therefore  hampered 
by  the  difficulty  of  making  observations  under 
conditions  of  control,  and  this  fact  explains  in 
considerable  measure  its  slow  development  as 
compared  with  the  brilliant  achievements  of  phys- 
ical science. 

FIELD   WORK   AND   THE   INDUCTIVE   METHOD 

Although  it  is  difficult  to  isolate  one  factor  at  a 
time  in  the  study  of  social  phenomena,  there  is  no 
excuse  for  failure  to  make  direct  observations  of 
social  facts.    Now  it  is  just  at  this  point  in  social 

f  Chapin,  F.  S. — "The  Experimental  Method  and  Sociology," 
Pop.  8ci.  Mo.,  vol.  4,  nos.  2  and  3,  1917. 


IS 


14    FIELD  WOKK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

research  that  field  work  supplies  the  technique  for 
observing  social  phenomena  by  first  hand  contact 
in  the  field.  Field  work  is  the  technique  of  study- 
ing social  conditions  by  first  hand  or  direct  con- 
tact with  the  facts.  Systematic  field  work  sup- 
plies the  means  for  approaching  the  study  of 
social  phenomena  in  an  objective  way.  By  the 
use  of  carefully  prepared  schedules  the  personal 
equation  of  the  field  worker  is  minimized  and 
comparable  observations  are  obtained.  The  chief 
mechanical  tool  of  field  work  is  thus  the  schedule. 
In  so  far  as  the  plan  and  arrangement  of  inquiries 
on  the  schedule  objectify  the  study  of  social  con- 
ditions by  supplying  the  basis  for  quantitative  ex- 
pression of  qualitative  facts,  the  schedule  is  an 
instrument  of  scientific  observation.  In  this 
sense  the  schedule  is  the  analogue  in  social  sci- 
ence of  the  telescope,  the  camera  or  the  spectro- 
scope in  the  science  of  astronomy.  These  latter 
instruments  of  observation  extend  the  power  of 
the  human  senses  and  permit  the  recording  of 
observations  in  an  objective  fashion.  As  we  shall 
see  in  chapter  vii,  the  schedule  used  in  field  work 
performs  the  same  function  in  a  limited  way. 
Systematic  field  work,  methodical  observation  of 
social  facts,  requires  careful  organization  of  the 
investigation.  In  the  following  chapters  we  shall 
describe  and  illustrate  the  different  methods  of 
planning  the  field  work  of  investigation,  involving 
the  principles  guiding  the  selection  "and  instruc- 
tion of  the  field  staff,  the  preparation  and  use  of 


THE  PLACE  OF  FIELD  WORK  15 

schedules,  the  supervision  of  workers  in  the  field, 
and  finally,  the  editing  of  schedules  turned  in  by 
field  workers. 

Field  work  however  well-planned  is  not  the 
first  step  in  the  scientific  investigation  of  social 
conditions.  It  must  be  remembered  that  field 
work  is  the  technique  of  making  direct  observa- 
tions by  first  hand  contact  with  the  facts.  Sup- 
pose some  one  else  has  gathered  the  data  required 
by  the  investigation?  Before  plunging  into  field 
work  therefore,  it  is  necessary  to  survey  the  sub- 
ject of  investigation  to  discover  whether  some  one 
else  had  not  already  gathered  the  necessary  data. 
This  means  that  documentary  records  or  written 
descriptions  and  reports  of  former  studies  should 
be  consulted  before  planning  or  starting  the  field 
work  phase  of  the  investigation.  It  is  commonly 
supposed  that  the  scientific  chemist  spends  most 
of  his  time  experimenting  in  the  laboratory.  This 
is  not  the  case,  for  three-quarters  of  his  time  in 
any  research  work  is  devoted  to  reading  at  the 
library  all  the  literature  on  the  particular  subject 
he  is  investigating.  In  reality,  only  one-quarter 
of  his  time  is  put  in  at  the  laboratory  in  actual 
chemical  experimentation.  Similarly  the  social 
scientist  before  he  begins  field  work  should  thor- 
oughly survey  the  field  to  discover  what  has  al- 
ready been  done.  Thus  indirect  observation  pre- 
cedes direct  observation.  Since  the  systematic 
use  of  documentary  sources  is  a  subject  in  itself 
and  one  in  which  a  real  scientific  technique  has 


16     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

been  built  up  by  historians,  we  shall  treat  of  it  iu 
some  detail  in  chapter  ii. 

A  clear  undestanding  of  the  place  of  field  work 
in  scientific  method  applied  to  the  study  of  social 
conditions  is  necessary  if  we  are  to  orient  our- 
selves properly  with  reference  to  this  specialized 
branch  of  social  investigation.  We  have,  there- 
fore, considered  field  work  in  the  light  of  the  three 
steps  of  the  inductive  method  and  found  that 
field  work,  being  a  technique  of  directly  observ- 
ing social  facts,  corresponds  to  the  second  step  of 
the  inductive  method,  e.g.,  that  of  collecting  and 
recording  the  observations  of  natural  phenomena. 
But  we  have  discovered  that  a  survey  of  docu- 
mentary records  of  observations  previously  made 
comes  first,  and  is  only  followed  by  field  work 
when  it  is  certain  that  existing  records  are  incom- 
plete. It  is  thus  clear  that  field  work  and  the 
historical  method  (critical  use  of  documentary 
sources)  are  the  two  specialized  techniques  of 
social  science  for  collecting  and  recording  the  ob- 
servations of  social  phenomena. 

FIELD   WOKK   IN   SOCIAL  EESEAECH 

While  we  are  considering  this  matter  it  is  in- 
teresting to  inquire  whether  in  social  science  there 
has  been  developed  any  method  or  technique  cor- 
responding to  the  third  and  leading  up  to  the 
fourth  step  of  the  inductive  method?  The  statis- 
tical method  does  in  fact  furnish  a  highly  efficient 
tool   for   scientific  classification    (tabulation)    of 


THE  PLACE  OF  FIELD  WORK 


17 


social  data  and  for  the  interpretation  (graphic 
methods,  ratios,  averages,  index  numbers,  cor- 
relation, etc.)  of  social  and  mass  phenomena.  It 
is  the  statistical  method,  therefore,  which  sup- 
plies social  science  with  a  special  technique  for 
classifying  and  interpreting  social  data.  The 
place  of  field  work  in  the  procedure  of  social  re- 
search is  thus  intermediate  between  the  applica- 
tion of  the  historical  method  and  the  statistical 
method.  If  we  should  attempt  to  enumerate  the 
methods  of  social  research,  we  should  find  that 
there  are  three  distinct  methods,  each  with  a 
highly  developed  technique  all  its  own:  (1)  the 
historical  method  (developed  by  historical  stu- 
dents) ;  (2)  field  work  (developed  by  statisticians 
and  social  workers) ;  and  (3)  the  statistical 
method  (developed  by  statisticians  and  mathe- 
maticians). 

The  inductive  method  Methods    of    sooial    research 

1.  The  working  hypothesis. 

2.  Collection   and  recording  of      1.  The     historical     method     of 

facts  of  observation*  critically  using  document- 

ary sources,  (indirect  ob- 
servation ) 
2.  Field  work.  Observation  by 
first  hand  contact  with  the 
facts,  (direct  observa- 
tion ) 

a.  Case  work 

b.  Sampling 

c.  Complete  enumeration. 

3.  Classification  of  the  facts  of      3.  The  statistical  method 


observation  into  series  and 
sequences  for  comparison. 
4.  Generalization  from  these 
classified  facts  to  some 
short  formula  or  law 
which  explains  their  rela- 
tions. 


a.  Tabulation 

b.  Graphs,  ratios,  aver- 
ages, indexes,  correla- 
tion coeflScients,  etc. 


18     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

The  above  tabular  arrangement  may  serve  to 
clarify  the  relations  of  the  different  methods  of 
social  research  as  they  form  special  phases  of  the 
inductive  method  in  social  science. 

SELECTED  REFERENCES 

Bowley,  A.  L. — The  Measurement  of  Social  Phenom- 
ena, 1915,  Ch.  1. 

Chapin,  F.  S. — ''The  Experimental  Method  and 
Sociology/'  The  Popular  Science  Monthly,  vol.  4,  nos.  2 
and  3,  Feb.-March,  1917. 

Duncan,  C.  S. — Commercial  Research,  1919. 

Giddings,  F.  H. — Inchictive  Sociology,  1902. 

Jevons,  W.  S. — Principles  of  Science,  ISl 4:. 

Mees,  C.  E.  K. — The  Organization  of  Industrial  Scien- 
tific Research,  1920. 

Pearl,  R. — Modes  of  Research  in  Genetics,  1915. 

Pearson,  K. — The  Grammar  of  Science,  1892. 

Peirce,  C.  S.— ''A  Theory  of  Probable  Inference," 
Studies  in  Logic,  Johns  Hopkins  University,  1883. 

Westaway,  F.  'W .—Scientific  Method,  1912. 


CHAPTER  n 

CRITICAL   EXAMINATION   OF  DOCUMENTARY  SOURCES 
PRECEDES   GOOD  FIELD  WORK 

The  first  step  in  making  any  investigation  is 
to  discover  what  others  have  done  in  the  same 
field.  This  means  careful  examination  of  docu- 
mentary sources  and  written  records  to  be  found 
in  libraries.  It  is  short-sighted  and  wasteful  of 
time  to  plunge  at  once  into  field  work. 

THE    SCEPTICAL    ATTITUDE    TOWARD    DOCUMENTS 

In  the  use  of  all  documentary  sources  there  is 
a  fundamental  need  of  scepticism.  The  investi- 
gator has  a  spontaneous  tendency  to  yield  assent 
to  affirmations  made  in  documents  and  to  repro- 
duce them  without  distinguishing  them  from  the 
results  of  his  own  observations.^  Since  credulity 
is  natural  and  deeply  rooted  in  human  indolence 
there  is  need  of  criticism  of  documentary  sources. 
It  is  far  easier  to  admit  a  statement  than  to  criti- 
cize it;  it  is  much  simpler  to  believe  than  to  dis- 
cuss; and  less  difficult  to  accumulate  evidence, 
documentary  statements,  facts  and  quotations, 
than  to  weigh  them. 

8  Langlois,  C.  V.,  and  Seignobos,  C. — Introduction  to  the  Stiidy 
of  History  (G.  G.  Berry  translation)   1912,  p.  69. 

19 


20     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

Every  student  of  social  conditions  should  try 
to  overcome  his  intellectual  inertia.  He  should 
train  himself  not  to  accept  indiscriminately,  and 
without  any  attempt  to  verify,  hearsay  reports, 
anonymous  statements,  and  documents  of  doubt- 
ful authority.  By  dint  of  continued  and  consci- 
entious practice  he  should  form  the  habit  of  criti- 
cism. 

It  must  always  be  remembered  that  documents 
supply  indirect,  as  contrasted  with  direct  knowl- 
edge. Documents  are  the  records  of  the  thoughts 
and  actions  of  other  men  in  a  recent  or  a  remote 
past.  They  are  merely  traces  of  psychological 
operations  once  performed.  Now  events  are 
known  to  us  in  two  ways  only:  (1)  by  direct  ob- 
servation while  they  are  in  progress  (this  is  the 
sphere  of  field  work) ;  (2)  or  indirectly,  by  the 
study  of  traces  which  they  have  left  behind  them. 
The  document  is  thus  the  record  of  an  observa- 
tion. In  using  documentary  reports  of  events  or 
descriptions  of  conditions,  we  do  not  observe  our- 
selves but  draw  inferences  from  the  observations 
of  others.  The  documentary  source  is  therefore, 
merely  the  starting  point,  with  the  fact  as  the 
goal.  Field  work,  on  the  contrary,  begins  with 
first  hand  observations  of  the  facts. 

THE    HISTOEICAL   METHOD 

Historians  have  developed  a  scientific  technique 
for  the  critical  use  of  documentary  sources.  Al- 
though some  phases  of  the  historical  method  are 


EXAMINATION  OF  SOURCES  21 

too  specialized  to  be  of  service  in  the  ordinary 
social  investigation,  the  larger  part  of  the  histori- 
cal method  is  of  direct  applicability  to  the  prob- 
lems with  which  the  student  of  social  research 
deals.  Indeed,  the  historical  method  is  one  of  the 
three  important  methods  of  social  research,  the 
others  being,  field  work  and  the  statistical  method. 
Now  the  main  divisions  of  the  historical  method 
are  two:^  (1)  external  criticism  of  the  objective 
characteristics  of  the  document,  including  critical 
examination  of  authorship,  critical  classification 
of  sources,  and  criticism  of  the  form  or  text  of 
the  document;  (2)  internal  criticism  of  the  sub- 
jective characteristics  of  the  document,  involving 
a  consideration  of  the  real  meaning  of  the  author 's 
statements,  his  good  faith  and  accuracy. 

EXTERNAL   CEITICISM 

The  form  and  appearance  of  the  document  as 
distinguished  from  its  contents  should  first  re- 
ceive our  critical  attention.  Here  again,  we  must 
be  on  our  guard  against  the  spontaneous  ten- 
dency of  the  human  mind  to  place  confidence  in 
the  indications  of  authorship.  The  ^  impulse  of 
confiding  trust  *^  must  be  checked.  We  should 
obtain  satisfactory  answers  to  such  questions  as : 
where  and  when  did  the  document  originate? 
Who  was  the  author?  What  were  the  sources 
used? 

To  be  really  critical,  a  classification  of  sources 

e  Ibid.,  pp.  66-69. 


22     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

should  show  discriminate  selection  of  material 
and  absence  of  credulity.  Compiling  a  critical 
bibliography  is  one  of  the  first  things  to  do  in 
starting  an  investigation.  There  are  different 
methods  of  classifying  documentary  sources. 
Certain  methods  should  not  be  followed,  for  ex- 
ample: do  not  make  notes  on  documents  read  or 
consulted  and  enter  them  in  a  notebook  one  after 
another  in  the  order  studied,  because  such  a  pro- 
cedure defeats  classification ;  do  not  enter  notes  in 
a  book  under  headings  which  form  a  prearranged 
scheme,  for  s&ch  a  procedure  leads  to  a  system  of 
classification  that  is  too  rigid;  it  is  still  worse  to 
rely  on  memory  and  fail  to  make  notes  at  all. 
The  best  plan,  on  the  whole,  is  to  make  loose  leaf 
notes  as  the  examination  of  documents  proceeds. 
All  slips  or  cards  should  be  of  uniform  size  with 
a  heading  upon  each  to  identify  the  subject  of  its 
contents,  and  a  full  citation  to  source  at  the  bot- 
tom. Slips  or  cards  prepared  in  this  way  may  be 
filed,  classified  and  cross-indexed  for  ready  refer- 
ence. Eeferences  to  sources  should  follow  con- 
sistently one  of  the  standardized  methods  of  foot- 
note citation.  Author,  title,  date  of  publication, 
number  of  edition,  volume,  part,  chapter  and  page, 
should  be  given  to  properly  indentify  the  precise 
source.  It  is  only  in  this  way  that  your  findings 
are  convincing  to  other  minds,  for  others  may  then 
check  up  your  evidence. 

Historians  have  developed  certain  principles  to 
test  the  relative  value  of  documentary  evidence 


EXAMINATION  OF  SOURCES  23 

when,  (1)  the  original  document  is  preserved,  (2) 
when  a  single  copy  only  is  preserved,  and  (3) 
when  several  copies  are  preserved  and  errors 
must  be  compared.  These  principles  are  too  spe- 
cialized to  discuss  here,  but  in  general  it  may  be 
said  that  the  document  of  original  entry  is  more 
reliable  than  the  copy  or  derivative.  It  should 
also  be  remembered  that  errors  in  the  original 
document  survive  in  the  copy. 

Criticism  of  the  external  characteristics  of 
documents,  outlined  in  the  preceding  paragraphs, 
has  its  limitations  and  its  dangers.^^  The  vota- 
ries of  critical  scholarship  are  as  much  in  error  in 
unduly  exalting  the  merits  of  criticism  as  are  su- 
perficial and  sentimental  persons  who  hold  criti- 
cal scholarship  in  contempt.  It  should  be  remem- 
bered that  criticism  of  the  externals  of  a  docu- 
ment is  merely  preparatory  to  the  more  difficult 
and  important  task  of  criticizing  the  psychological 
aspects  of  the  source.  External  criticism  is  thus 
a  means  to  an  end,  and  not  an  end  in  itself. 
While  critical  analysis  into  the  minutiae  of  docu- 
ments satisfies  the  impulses  towards  collecting 
and  puzzle-solving,  it  sacrifices  the  higher  facul- 
ties to  purely  critical  learning.  There  is  danger 
that  the  pursuit  of  this  branch  of  criticism  will 
lead  to  dilettantism  and  to  hypercriticism.  The 
technique  of  criticism  tends  to  become  more  im- 
portant than  the  results.  The  tool  becomes  the 
goal.     Criticism  comes  to  exist  for  the  sake  of 

10  Ibid.,  pp.  114-134. 


24     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

criticism.  The  result  is  loss  of  power  to  work. 
*^Some  of  the  most  accomplished  critics  merely 
make  a  trade  of  their  skill,  and  have  never  re- 
flected on  the  ends  to  which  their  art  is  the 
means."  ^^ 

INTERNAL  CRITICISM 

Internal  criticism  of  the  subjective  characteris- 
tics of  a  document  is  the  more  important  part  of 
criticism.  In  order  to  determine  what  in  the  doc- 
ument may  be  true  it  is  necessary,  strictly  speak- 
ing, to  trace  in  each  case  the  mental  operations 
which  began  with  the  observation  of  the  fact  and 
ended  with  writing  the  words  in  the  report,  fiow- 
ley  ^2  says  that  it  is  a  good  plan  before  evenYead- 
ing  a  statistical  account  to  *^sit  down  and  think 
quietly  what  statistics  ought  to  have  been  col- 
lected, if  possible,  for  the  purpose  in  hand,  and 
what  sources  of  information  exist,  or  should  ex- 
ist.'' In  the  case  of  a  wage  study  the  weekly  rate, 
supplementary  earnings  of  other  members  of  the 
man's  family,  allowance  in  annual  earnings  for 
periods  of  unemployment,  and  so  on,  should  be 
considered. 

Since  in  most  cases  an  analysis  of  all  the  men- 
tal operations  of  the  author  is  out  of  the  question, 
psychological  criticism  concentrates  on  two  lines 
of  examination:  ^^  (1)  analysis  of  the  contents  of 
the  document  to  ascertain  what  the  author  meant ; 

11  Ibid.,  p.  143. 

i2Bowley,  A.  L. — Elementa/ry  Manual  of  Statistics,  1910,  p.  67. 

isLanglois,  op.  cit.,  p.  143. 


EXAMINATION  OF  SOURCES  25 

and  (2)  analysis  of  the  conditions  under  which  the 
document  was  produced  in  order  that  the  author's 
statements  may  be  verified  and  evaluated.  Un- 
less a  document  is  critically  studied  in  this  way 
there  is  danger  that  the  investigator  using  it  as  a 
reference,  will  read  into  the  text  his  own  opinions 
— especially  in  cases  where  the  author's  language 
and  thought  differ  from  his  own. 

A  system  of  loose  leaf  notes  or  slips  or  cards  is 
the  most  helpful  mechanical  aid  to  this  analysis. 
Each  slip  should  indicate  for  the  part  of  the  docu- 
ment cited,  the  general  sense  of  the  text,  and  the 
object  and  views  of  the  author. 

It  should  always  be  remembered  that  the  literal 
meaning  of  the  author's  language  is  not  a  fixed 
quantity.  Such  facts  as  the  time  in  which  the 
document  was  written,  the  language  of  the  coun- 
try, the  author's  own  manner  of  using  language 
and  the  general  sense  of  the  context  all  constitute 
variable  factors.  In  using  documents  written  in  a 
foreign  language  these  considerations  apply  with 
special  force.  In  general,  however,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  examine  in  this  critical  way  only  those  ex- 
pressions which,  from  their  nature,  are  liable  to 
take  on  different  meanings,  such  for  example  as, 
classes  of  men,  institutions,  feelings,  customs, 
common  objects,  terms  and  units  used  in  social- 
economic  investigations.  Does  the  term  ** births" 
used  by  the  author  include  or  exclude  still  births? 
Does  ** foreign  population"  mean  foreign  born, 
native  born  of  foreign  parents,  or  both  ? 


26     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

The  real  meaning  of  the  author 's  language  may 
be  disguised  by  jests  and  hoaxes,  in  allegory,  sym- 
bolism, allusion,  implication,  and  in  such  ordinary 
figures  of  speech  as  metaphor,  hyperbole  and 
litotes.  To  detect  the  existence  of  an  oblique 
sense  in  the  author's  expressions,  there  should  be 
evidence  of  absurdity,  incoherence,  contradiction 
or  obscurity  in  the  literal  sense  of  his  statements. 


Having  determined  what  the  author  meant  we 
must  proceed  to  a  critical  estimate  of  his  good 
faith  and  accuracy.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  state- 
ments in  documents  are  found  to  contradict  one 
another,  it  is  necessary  to  examine  written  rec- 
ords carefully  to  eliminate  errors.  The  high  de- 
gree of  vitality  possessed  by  spontaneous  credu- 
lity is  shown  in  the  common  tendency  to  accept  as 
true  every  written  statement,  as  if  no  author  ever 
lied  or  was  deceived.  The  scientific  student 
should  cultivate  the  habit  of  methodical  doubt  of 
documentary  statements.  Although  a  document 
may  be  quite  authentic  as  to  origin,  this  does  not 
in  the  least  establish  any  presumption  in  favor  of 
the  truth  of  the  statements  it  contains.  As  writ- 
ten sources  are  used,  care  should  be  taken  by  the 
reader  to  analyze  and  criticize  each  statement. 
This  means  analytical  criticism  of  the  document 
and  not  criticism  en  bloc.  "While  our  description 
of  this  procedure  sounds  as  if  it  were  too  slow 
and  intricate  to  be  practicable,  this  is  really  not 


EXAMINATION  OF  SOURCES  27 

the  case.  Methodical  doubt  consists  in  the  hahit 
of  performing  certain  acts  of  thought.  As  soon 
as  the  initial  difficulty  is  overcome  the  habit  is 
readily  established  and  methodical  distrust  and 
criticism  become  second  nature — performed  with- 
out consciousness  of  disagreeable  slowness  or  dif- 
ficulty. 

Beware  of  putting  faith  in  the  form  in  which 
a  statement  is  cast.  Form  does  not  indicate  sin- 
cerity or  accuracy  of  the  author.  The  so-called 
*^ accent  of  sincerity"  presented  by  a  statement  is 
an  illusion.  Vehemence  in  affirmation  does  not 
necessarily  mean  strength  of  conviction.  It  often 
indicates  the  reverse.  Profusion  and  precision  of 
detail  are  in  themselves  not  a  guaranty  of  ac- 
curacy in  facts,  however  vivid  may  be  the  impres- 
sion they  produce  upon  the  reader. 

The  value  of  the  author's  statement  is  deter- 
mined by  the  conditions  under  which  he  made  his 
observations.  Critical  investigation  of  author- 
ship begins,  therefore,  with  the  preparation  of  a 
general  set  of  questions  which  have  reference  to 
the  possible  causes  of  falsehood.  The  document 
is  then  tested  against  these  questions  to  discover 
those  causes  which  may  have  rendered  the  au- 
thor's mental  operations  incorrect  and  hence  viti- 
ated the  results.  Criticism  of  the  particular 
statements  contained  in  the  document  is  carried 
out  by  testing  each  statement  against  a  second  list 
of  questions  which  relate  to  the  causes  of  inac- 
curacy characteristic  of  mental  processes. 


28     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

Are  there  reasons  for  doubting  the  author's 
good  faith  because  he  was  placed  in  one  of  those 
situations  which  ordinarily  incline  a  man  to  be  in- 
sincere? It  becomes,  therefore,  a  question  of 
motives,  and  we  ask,  had  the  author  an  interest  at 
stake,  did  he  seek  to  gain  practical  advantage  for 
himself  by  the  statements  he  wrote  down!  If  so, 
he  had  an  interest  in  deceiving. 

This  is  the  case  with  most  official  documents. 
We  must  ask  what  interest  the  author  could  have 
thought  he  had  in  misrepresentation.  We  find  the 
answer  in  his  ideals  and  tastes.  Now  it  should  be 
remembered  that  instead  of  individual  interest, 
the  author  may  have  sought  to  serve  some  collec- 
tive interest  of  a  political  party,  an  economic 
class,  or  a  religious  denomination.  Much  that  is 
given  in  the  United  States  Senate's  report  on 
*' Prices,  Wages,  and  Transportation''  of  1893, 
appears  to  be  susceptible  of  this  interpretation.^'* 
The  motive  to  show  the  beneficient  effect  of  a  Ee- 
publican  tariff  on  prices,  wages  and  transporta- 
tion, seems  to  supply  an  explanation  of  the  un- 
representative character  of  the  data  upon  which 
the  final  indexes  in  this  report  were  based.  Of  21 
industries  investigated,  11  were  represented  by 
one  establishment,  each.  Although  there  were 
353,444  clerks  in  the  dry  goods  business,  the  index 
for  wages  in  the  dry  goods  business  was  based  on 
the  wages  of  employees  in  one  store  in  New  Hamp- 

14,  15  and  16,  see  respectively  vol.  I,  p.  175;  vol.  Ill,  pp.  857-863; 
and  vol.  II,  p.  313. 


EXAMINATION  OF  SOURCES  29 

shire,  where  one  porter,  eight  salesmen,  and  six 
salesladies,  were  employed.^^  No  investigation 
was  made  into  the  wages  of  agricultural  laborers, 
although  the  United  States  is  largely  an  agricul- 
tural country.  Of  course  their  wages  would  have 
been  low  and  had  they  been  incorporated  into  the 
material  upon  which  the  index  was  based,  the  lat- 
ter would  have  been  less  high.  The  wage  index 
for  brewers  ^^  in  the  industrial  class,  *^Ale,  beer, 
and  porter, ' '  was  based  on  one  brewer  in  one  New 
York  establishment,  and  weights  were  not  used. 
The  question  of  good  faith  deserves  special  con- 
sideration wherever  newspapers  are  used  as 
sources.  The  partisan  character  of  editorial  col- 
umns is  well  kno^vn.  Editorial  policy  is  con- 
trolled by  some  individual  or  perhaps  by  some 
corporation.  Advertisements  may  supply  a  clue 
to  the  nature  of  this  influence.  The  character 
and  frequency  of  certain  types  of  advertisements 
appearing  in  a  given  newspaper  indicate  the  kind 
of  commercial  patronage  it  receives  and  may  sug- 
gest the  source  or  explain  the  significance  of  edi- 
torial bias.  In  the  news  columns,  headings  are 
often  chosen,  that  consist  of  words  or  phrases  ap- 
pearing below  but  which,  when  removed  from  their 
context  misrepresent  the  real  meaning  of  the  re- 
port or  distort  the  evidence  in  the  news  columns. 
In  other  cases  wilful  misrepresentation  is  resorted 
to.  The  heading,  *^  Wilson  opposes  military 
training'^  (in  large  type),  with  the  modifying 
phrase,  ^*  President,  in  letter  to  Secretary  Baker, 


30     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

gives  reasons  for  objecting  to  house  democrats 
making  it  an  issue''  (in  small  type),  gives  the 
reader  the  impression  that  the  President's  letter 
was  written  to  oppose  military  training.  The 
truth  in  the  case,  is  however,  quite  the  contrary, 
for  in  the  middle  of  his  letter  the  President  makes 
this  statement,  *^  .  .  the  moderate  and  carefully 
conducted  course  of  military  training  may  have 
the  highest  possible  advantages,"  and  then  pro- 
ceeds to  say  that  the  principle  of  moderate  mili- 
tary training  to  which  he  had  given  his  approval 
should  not  be  made  a  political  issue.  The  news- 
paper in  which  these  headlines  appeared  was  at- 
tached to  the  most  narrow  interpretation  of  Re- 
publican party  politics. 

Was  the  author  placed  in  a  situation  in  which 
■he  was  forced  to  tell  an  untruth?     This  situation 

.^-^exists  wherever  a  document  has  to  be  drawn  up  in 
conformity  to  rule  or  custom.    In  modified  degree 

^--'  this  question  applies  to  many  legislative  records 
of  national,  state  or  municipal  origin.  It  should 
be  remembered  that  statutes  or  ordinances  are 
records  of  a  compromise  of  differing  opinions  on 
an  issue.  They  should  be  examined  in  the  light 
of  written  records  of  the  discussion  which  pre- 
ceded them.  This  is  to  study  the  process  by  which 
the  compromise  was  reached,  and  throws  light  on 
motives  underlying  the  action  taken.  Minutes  of 
the  proceedings  may  be  examined  and  it  may 
sometimes  be  wise  to  go  back  of  these  to  records  of 
special  committees  in  order  that  their  rules  of 


I 


EXAMINATION  OF  SOURCES  31 

order  may  be  understood.  All  this  testimony 
should  be  checked  against  the  general  rules  of  evi- 
dence. 

Other  questions  may  now  be  asked.  Was  the 
author  influenced  by  sympathy  or  antipathy  and 
hence  biased  to  such  an  extent  as  to  distort  facts 
in  representing  his  opponents  in  an  unfavorable 
and  his  friends  in  a  favorable  light?  Was  the 
author  influenced  by  vanity  to  violate  the  truth? 
Perhaps  certain  statements  in  the  text  were  made 
with  a  view  to  impress  the  reader  with  the  im- 
portance or  power  of  the  author  or  the  group  he 
represents.  Are  the  statements  of  the  author  in- 
fluenced by  desire  to  please  the  public?  Is  there 
over-deference  to  public  opinion  which  leads  to 
distortion  of  facts?  Answers  to  these  questions 
depend  upon  the  particular  public  grotip  to  which 
the  document  is  addressed  and  by  the  special 
morals  or  manners  of  this  public.  Is  there  sus- 
picion of  dramatic  or  literary  distortion  in  the 
statements  contained  in  the  document? 

Having  examined  the  author's  good  faith  by 
obtaining  an  answer  to  these  questions,  we  must 
now  consider  the  reasons  for  doubting  the  accu- 
racy of  the  author's  statements. 

In  some  cases  the  author  was  a  poor  observer 
because  of  forces  of  which  he  was  not  aware 
such  as  hallucinations,  illusions,  mental  defects, 
or  prejudices.  Do  these  considerations  apply  in 
the  document  under  examination?  The  best  that 
we  can  do  in  answer  to  such  a  question  is  to  learn 


32     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

from  information  derived  from  other  sources,  or 
by  comparison,  whether  the  author  had  a  general 
tendency  to  this  sort  of  error./  Experimental 
psychology  has  demonstrated  by  laboratory  tests 
' '  that  an  errorless  report  is  not  the  rule  and  that 
attention  does  not  guarantee  accuracy.^^j  Of 
course,  the  inquiry  into  prejudices  overlajTs  our 
previous  questioning  of  motives  for  falsehood. 
Yet  in  this  way  evidence  as  to  good  faith  and  ac- 
curacy becomes  cumulative  and  corroboratory. 
Finally,  it  should  always  be  ascertained  whether 
the  author  has  put  forth  the  statement  in  answer 
to  a  question.  If  this  is  the  case,  then  we  should 
carefully  examine  the  situation  to  determine  the 
extent  to  which  the  statement  as  an  answer  to  a 
question  was  distorted  by  a  desire  to  please  the 
interrogator,  and  by  the  natural  tendency  of  ques- 
tions to  suggest  their  own  answers. 

Was  the  author  badly  situated  in  time  and  place 
to  observe?  The  ideal  conditions  of  observation 
are  those  in  which  the  observer,  without  any  pre- 
conceived idea  about  the  result,  was  placed  where 
he  could  see  correctly  and  recorded  the  observa- 
tion immediately  in  a  precise  system  of  notation, 
accompanied  by  precise  indication  of  the  methods 
used.^^  Since  chances  of  inaccuracy  are  always 
present  it  is  necessary  to  secure  an  answer  to  the 
foregoing    question.    Perhaps    the    author    was 

17  Whipple,  G.  M. — Manual  of  Mental  and  Physical  Tests,  1910, 
pp.  286  et  seq. 

18  Langlois  and  Seignobos,  op.  cit.,  p.  174. 


EXAMINATION  OF  SOURCES  33 

present  at  the  event,  or  did  really  observe  the  con- 
ditions on  the  spot.  Yet  even  so,  failure  to  re- 
cord the  observation  immediately  and  in  precise 
language  may  invalidate  conclusions  based  upon 
his  report.  We  should  be  careful  to  distinguish 
between  the  author  who  is  a  mere  witness  of  the 
event  which  he  describes  and  one  who  is  a  trained 
observer.  The  author  who  is  a  scientific  observer 
proceeds  by  fij^ed  rules  and  records  his  observa-' 
tions  in  language  of  rigorous  precision;  whereas 
the  author  who  is  a  mere  witness,  observes  with- 
out method,  and  reports  in  unprecise  language, 
moreover,  we  do  not  know  what  precautions  he 
has  taken  to  make  his  observations  accurate. 
Most  newspaper  reports  are  of  witnesses  in  this 
sense  of  the  word  and  not  reports  of  observers. 
They  are  not  reliable  because  first  impressions 
and  hearsay  play  such  a  part  in  them.  The 
garbled  reports  of  public  speeches  and  addresses 
are  a  case  in  point. 

There  are  other  questions  to  be  answered. 
Was  the  author  at  all  negligent  or  indifferent  in 
making  his  observation?  Perhaps  from  idleness 
or  negligence  his  report  of  the  event  distorts  the 
facts.  It  is  common  for  reporters  to  publish  ac- 
counts of  gatherings  they  never  attended. 

Was  the  fact  reported  of  such  a  nature  that  it 
could  not  be  directly  observed?  This  is  the  case 
with  statistical  totals  or  comprehensive  judgments 
which  are  propositions  derived  from  observations 


<r 


34     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

only  by  performing  the  operations  of  synthesis  or 
inference.  The  question,  therefore,  is  this :  is  the 
author's  report  based  on  sufficient  data?  How  ac- 
curate was  he  in  the  use  of  this  data  ?  The  inves- 
tigator should  consider  how  far  the  things  or 
persons  grouped  in  the  totals  are  similar.  How 
far  is  the  group  homogeneous?  Under  the  main 
occupational  heading,  ** textile  fabrics,''  may  be 
grouped  persons  who  differ  with  respect  to  (1) 
sex,  (2)  age,  (3)  nature  of  material  worked,  e.g., 
cotton,  wool,  etc.,  (4)  position  in  industry  as  mer- 
chant, dealer,  manufacturer,  or  employee,  (5) 
specific  task  in  occupation,  and  (6)  locality.  If 
we  were  told  that  192,147  persons  were  included 
under  this  main  heading  in  Massachusetts  in  1909, 
the  information  is  so  wide  as  to  be  nearly  useless. 
All  of  the  foregoing  questions,  designed  to  de- 
termine the  accuracy  of  the  author's  statements, 
are  on  the  assumption  that  he  was  the  original  ob- 
server; when,  however,  it  can  be  established  that 
the  author  was  not  the  original  observer  of  the 
facts  reported  in  the  document,  it  is  important  to 
search  for  the  original  informant  whose  testi- 
mony the  author  transmits  and  to  test  the  state- 
ments by  the  aforementioned  principles.  Such  a 
procedure  may  not  be  possible  and  it  then  becomes 
necessary  to  adopt  some  principle  of  criticism  of 
anonymous  statements.  In  this  connection  the  in- 
vestigator must  distinguish  between  written  and 
oral  tradition.  In  general,  written  tradition  is 
more  reliable.    In  any  case,  we  must  ask :  was  the 


EXAMINATION  OF  SOURCES  35 

author  in  the  habit  of  altering  his  statements  from 
written  sources?  ^^ 

Historians  have  developed  the  following  princi- 
ples or  rules  for  using  anonymous  statements. 
In  cases  where  the  fact  is  opposed  to  the  interest 
or  vanity  of  the  author,  or  where  the  fact  was  so 
generally  known  that  fraud  would  have  been  de- 
tected, or  where  the  fact  was  indifferent  to  the  au- 
thor so  that  he  had  no  temptation  to  distort  it,  we 
may  conclude  that  falsehood  is  improbable  and  ac- 
cept the  statement  as  true.  In  cases  where  the 
fact  was  so  *'big^'  that  it  was  hard  to  be  mis- 
taken, the  statement  may  be  accepted  as  correct. 
Such  is  the  case  in  matters  of  custom  where  the 
fact  covered  a  long  period  of  time,  and  was  so 
widely  dispersed  that  many  people  knew  of  it,  or 
where  it  was  expressed  in  such  general  terms  as 
to  be  obvious  to  the  most  superficial  observer. 

Determination  of  particular  facts  given  in  docu- 
mentary statements  is  made  by  the  method  of  com- 
parison. Comparison  is  facilitated  bythe  method 
of  slips.^^  Contradictions  found  in  statements 
may  be  real  or  only  apparent.  When  there  is  real 
contradiction,  it  is  a  good  rule  to  suspect  one  and 
not  to  split  the  difference.  But  agreement  in 
statements  is  not  demonstration.  Corroboratory 
statements  must  be  independent  in  origin  before 
they  can  be  accepted  as  conclusive.  The  investi- 
gator should  find  an  answer  to  the  question:  are 
the  statements  independent  or  a  reproduction  of 

19  Ibid.,  p.  184.  20  Supra,  pp.  22,  25. 


36     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

some  initial  observation  common  to  them  all! 
Perfect  similarity  between  statements  is  more  to 
be  distrusted  than  occasional  coincidence.  **The 
only  observations  which  are  certainly  independ- 
ent are  those  which  are  contained  in  different 
documents,  written  by  different  authors,  who  be- 
longed to  different  groups,  and  worked  under  dif- 
ferent conditions.'*  ^^ 

Although  agreement  between  documents  may 
lead  to  conclusions  that  are  indefinite,  it  is  never- 
theless true  that  in  general,  different  facts,  each 
imperfectly  pw)ven,  corroborate  one  another  when 
they  harmonize.  In  cases  where  there  is  disagree- 
ment between  documentary  statements  and  the  re- 
sults of  contemporary  observations,  the  probabil- 
ity is  that  the  latter  are  true.  The  most,  there- 
fore, that  can  be  concluded  in  regard  to  particular 
statements  made  by  authors  is  a  high  or  low  de- 
gree of  probability — ^there  is  never  absolute  cer- 
tainty. 

SUMMAEY   OF   PRINCIPLES   OF   CRITICISM 

We  may  now  summarize  and  recapitulate  the 
principles  of  documentary  criticism  by  enumerat- 
ing them  in  order. 

a — Discover  what  other  investigators  have  done  before 
beginning  field  work. 

b — There  is  fundamental  need  of  scepticism  of  state- 
ments contained  in  documents  to  offset  usual  credulity  in 
their  use.    Develop  the  habit  of  methodical  doubt. 

21  Langlois  and  Seignobos,  op.  cit.,  p.  203. 


EXAMINATION  OF  SOURCES  37 

c — Documents  supply  only  indirect  and  hence  incom- 
plete and  inaccurate  knowledge  of  facts. 

d — Documents  should  first  be  criticized  as  to  their 
external  or  objective  characteristics. 

(1)  Authorship  should  be  critically  examined. 

(2)  Sources  should  be  critically  classified. 

(3)  The   investigator  should   avoid  hypercriticism 

which  makes  the  tool  the  goal  and  not  the 
means  to  the  end  of  knowledge,  of  the  truth, 
e — ^Documents  should  then  be  criticized  as  to  their 
internal  or  subjective  characteristics.     This  is  the  more 
impoDtant  division  of  criticism.     It  is  analytical  crit- 
icism. 

(1)  What  did  the  author  mean  by  this  particular 

statement?     What  is  its  real  meaning  as  dis- 
tinguished from  its  mere  literal  meaning? 

(2)  Was  the  statement  made  in  good  faith? 

(a)  Had   the   author   interest   in   deceiving   the 

reader  ? 

(b)  Was  the  author  under  pressure  to  tell  an 

untruth  ? 

(c)  Was  he  influenced  by  sjanpathy  or  antipathy 

to  tell  an  untruth? 

(d)  Did  vanity  influence  him? 

(e)  Was  he  influenced  by  public  opinion? 

(f)  Is   there   evidence   of   literary   or   dramatic 

motives  to  distort  the  truth? 

(3)  Was  I  he  statement  accurate?  or  more  partic- 

ularly : 

(a)  Was  the  author  a  poor  observer  because  of 

mental  defect  or  abnormality? 

(b)  Was  the  author  badly  situated  in  time  and 

place  to  observe  ? 

(c)  Was  he  negligent  or  indifferent? 

(d)  Was  the  fact  of  such  a  nature  that  it  could 

not  be  directly  observed  ? 

(e)  Was  the  author  a  mere  witness  or  a  trained 

observer  ? 

(4)  When  it  appears  that  the  author  was  not  the 

original  observer  it  is  necessary  to  determine 


38     FIELD  :WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

the  truth   and  accuracy  of  his  sources   of 

information. 
f — Particular  facts  may  be  determined  by  the  pro- 
cedure of  comparison  which  weighs  the  importance  of 
contradictions  and  agreements  and  concludes  at  the  most 
with  a  determination  of  the  degree  of  probability. 

PABTIAIi  LIST   OF   COMMON   DOCUMENTAEY   SOURCES 

List  of  common  documentary  sources  of  infor- 
mation about  social  conditions  and  relations. 
This  list  is  not  an  exhaustive  catalogue  but  a^cita- 
tion  of  certain  typical  sources  suggestive  of  the 
variety  and  wealth  of  material  available,  through 
which  the  investigator  may  forage  for  himself. 

a — Statistical  sources  of  public  or  official  character. 
(1)  Publications  of  the  Federal  Government. 

Agriculture,  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
since  1862:  Office  of  Agricultural  Experi- 
ment Stations ;  Bureau  of  Chemistry,  charged 
with  administration  of  food  and  drugs  act; 
Forest  Service;  Office  of  Public  Roads  and 
Rural  Engineering;  Biological  Survey;  Fed- 
eral Horticultural  Board;  Bureau  of  Soils; 
Bureau  of  Animal  Industry;  and  Bureau  of 
Crop  Estimates. 

Banks,  statistics  of,  in  annual  reports  of  the 
Comptroller  of  the  Currency. 

Children 's  Bureau  of  the  Department  of  Labor, 
since  1912,  statistical  reports,  investigations, 
monographs,  on  infant  mortality,  child  labor, 
birth  registration. 

Census  Bureau  of  Statistics,  prior  to  1902  as  a 
temporary  bureau  of  the  Department  of 
Interior,  since  1902  as  a  permanent  office  in 
the  Department  of  Labor  and  Commerce,  and 
since  1913  as  the  Bureau  of  the  Census  in  the 
Department    of    Commerce.    Besides   decen- 


EXAMINATION  OF  SOURCES  39 

nial  census  of  population,  agriculture,  occu- 
pations, manufactures,  mines,  the  Bureau  of 
Census  takes  in  the  course  of  each  decade  a 
census  of  manufactures,  wealth,  debt  and  tax- 
ation; dependent,  defective  and  delinquent 
classes;  religious  bodies;  and  in  cooperation 
with  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  a  census  of  fish- 
eries; quinquennial  census  of  electric  light 
and  power  plants;  street  and  electric  rail- 
ways ;  telegraphs  and  telephones ;  annual  sta- 
tistics of  mortality  for  the  registration  area; 
financial  statistics  of  cities  of  over  30,000 
inhabitants,  as  well  as  special  inquiries. 

Foreign  Commerce,  statistics  of,  began  in  1789 
by  the  Treasury  Department  and  since  1866 
by  the  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  said  depart- 
ment, for  custom  duties,  foreign  commerce, 
imports  and  exports,  tonnage  of  vessels, 
coasting  trade  statistics,  vessels  registered, 
enrolled  and  licensed,  etc. 

Internal  commerce,  statistics  of,  since  1866  by 
Treasury  Bureau  of  Statistics,  of  commercial 
movements  at  interior  centers,  domestic  com- 
merce on  great  lakes,  receipts  and  shipments 
at  principal  North  Atlantic  seaports,  coast- 
wise commerce,  lumber,  naval  stores.  Pacific 
coast  commerce  and  lumber  shipments,  river 
and  canal  traffic,  statistics  of  coal  mined  and 
shipped,  and  ocean  freight  rates. 

Corporations  other  than  banks,  statistics  of, 
also  of  common  carriers,  by  the  Bureau  of 
Corporations  of  the  Department  of  Com- 
merce and  Labor  since  1903,  beef  industry, 
petroleum  industry,  cotton  exchanges,  tobacco 
industry,  steel  industry,  lumber  industry, 
etc.  Since  1914  corporation  statistics  also 
gathered  by  the  Federal  Trade  Commission. 

Immigration  statistics,  by  Bureau  of  Immigra- 
tion of  Treasury  department  since  1891,  and 
by  Bureau  of  Immigration  of  Department  of 


40     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

Commerce  and  Labor  since  1903,  by  Bureau 
of  Immigration  and  Naturalization  since 
1906,  and  since  1913  by  two  agencies :  Bureau 
of  Immigration,  and  Division  of  Naturaliza- 
tion. 

Labor  Statistics,  adequately  collected  since 
1884,  consecutively  by  Bureau  of  Labor  of 
the  Department  of  the  Interior  in  1884, 
Department  of  Labor  in  1888,  Bureau  of 
Labor  of  the  Department  of  Commerce  and 
Labor  after  1903,  and  by  Bureau  of  Labor 
Statistics  of  the  Department  of  Labor  since 
1913;  industrial  depressions,  convict  labor, 
strikes,  lockouts,  conditions  of  work,  compila- 
tions of  labor  laws,  insurance  of  workingmen, 
workmen's  compensation,  bi-monthly  bulle- 
tins up  to  1912,  since  1912  bulletins  in  the 
form  of  monographs,  index  figures  of  wages 
and  prices,  since  1915  a  monthly  review, 
administers  Federal  Compensation  Act,  a 
nineteen  volume  report  on  Women  and  Child 
Wage  Earners  in  the  United  States. 

Foreign  Markets,  statistics  of,  since  1912  given 
in  reports  of  Bureau  of  Foreign  and  Domestic 
Commerce,  with  which  the  Bureau  of  Statis- 
tics in  the  State  Department  and  the  Bureau 
of  Manufactures  were  merged;  give  statis- 
tics compiled  by  consular  service,  commercial 
agents  and  attaches. 

Railways,  statistics  of,  prior  to  1887  found  in 
reports  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior, 
Treasury  Bureau  of  Statistics  and  Census 
Office,  since  1887  in  reports  of  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission. 

Schools  and  colleges,  statistics  of,  by  the  Bureau 
of  Education. 

Temporary  agencies  of  statistical  inquiry:  Sen- 
ate Cotnmittee  on  Finance,  report  on  Retail 
Prices  and  Wages  in  1892 ;  Wholesale  Prices, 
Wages  and  Transportation  by  same  commit- 


EXAMINATION  OF  SOURCES  41 

tee  in  1893 ;  report  of  the  Industrial  Commis- 
sion in  1902;  Immigration  Commission 
reports  in  42  volumes  covering  the  dates 
1820-1910 ;  United  States  Monetary  Commis- 
sion in  1908;  Tariff  Board  in  1911;  Select 
Committee  on  Wages  and  Prices  of  the  U.  S. 
Senate  in  1913;  Commission  on  Industrial 
Relations  in  1915. 

(2)  Official  statistical  reports  and  publications  by 

.foreign  governments:  Australia,  Austria, 
Belgium,  Canada,  Denmark,  France,  Ger- 
many, Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  Hungary, 
India,  Italy,  Japan,  Netherlands,  Norway, 
Russia  and  Sweden.  See  The  History  of  Sta- 
tistics, edited  by  John  Koren,  pub.  1918. 

(3)  Publications  of  State  governments  (as  in  1915). 
Agricultural  statistics,  b}^  boards  or  depart- 
ments in  Alabama,  Arkansas,  California, 
Colorado,  Florida,  Georgia,  Illinois,  Ken- 
tucky, Michigan,  Mississippi,  Missouri, 
Nebraska,  New  York,  North  Dakota,  Okla- 
homa, Oregon,  Pennsylvania,  South  Caro- 
lina, Texas,  Vermont,  Virginia,  and  West 
Virginia. 

Arbitration,  conciliation  and  mediation, 
boards  or  commissions  in  Alabama,  Cali- 
fornia, Illinois,  Iowa,  Louisiana,  Maine, 
Massachusetts,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  Mis- 
souri, Montana,  Nebraska,  New  Hampshire, 
New  York,  Oklahoma,  and  Pennsylvania. 

Census  of  population  is  taken  at  decennial 
periods  between  the  Federal  Census  in  the 
following  states:  Florida,  Iowa,  Kansas, 
Massachusetts,  New  Jersey,  New  York, 
North  Dakota,  South  Dakota,  Rhode  Island, 
and  Wyoming. 

Health  boards  or  departments  of  in  Arkansas, 
California,  Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire, 
and  Tennessee. 

Immigration,  bureau,  board  or  department  in 


42     FIELD  WOKK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

Colorado,    Hawaii,    Idaho,    Minnesota,   New 
York,  and  Utah. 

Labor,  by  industrial  commission,  bureau  or 
department,  in  Arkansas,  California,  Col- 
orado, Connecticut,  Delaware,  Florida, 
Georgia,  Hawaii,  Idaho,  Illinois,  Indiana, 
Iowa,  Kansas,  Kentucky,  Louisiana,  Maine, 
Maryland,  Massachusetts,  Michigan,  Minne- 
sota, Missouri,  Montana,  Nebraska,  Nevada, 
New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey,  New  Mexico, 
New  York,  North  Carolina,  North  Dakota, 
Ohio,  Oklahoma,  Oregon,  Pennsylvania,  Phil- 
ippine Islands,  Porto  Rico,  Rhode  Island, 
South  Carolina,  Tennessee,  Texas,  Utah,  Ver- 
mont, Virginia,  Washington,  West  Virginia 
and  Wisconsin. 

Mines  and  mining,  by  bureau  or  inspectors  in 
Alabama,  Alaska,  Arizona,  Arkansas,  Col- 
orado, Idaho,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Kansas, 
Kentucky,  Louisiana,  Maryland,  Michigan, 
Missouri,  Nevada,  New  Mexico,  Oklahoma, 
Pennsylvania,  South  Dakota,  Tennessee, 
Texas,  Utah,  Virginia,  Washington,  West 
Virginia  and  Wyoming, 

Minimum  wage  commissions  in  Arkansas,  Cal- 
ifornia, Colorado,  Kansas,  Massachusetts,  Min- 
nesota, Nebraska,  Oregon,  Washington  and 
Wisconsin. 

Workmen  ^s  compensation  by  industrial  accident 
commission  or  board,  in  California,  Colorado, 
Connecticut,  Hawaii,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Iowa, 
Maine,  Maryland,  Massachusetts,  Michigan, 
Montana,  Nevada,  New  Jersey,  New  York, 
Ohio,  Oklahoma,  Oregon,  Pennsylvania,  Texas, 
Utah,  Vermont,  Washington,  West  Virginia 
and  Wisconsin. 
(4)  Reports  of  local  and  municipal  boards  or 
departments  of  health,  charities,  corrections, 
welfare  and  inspectors  of  buildings,  etc. 
b — Statistical  sources  of  private  or  unofficial  character 


EXAMINATION  OF  SOURCES  43 

(1)  Reports  and  records  of  charitable  or  philan- 

thropic agencies. 

(2)  Pay-rolls    and    reports   of   various    industrial 

establishments. 

(3)  Reports   of   private   commissions,    committees, 

bureaus   of   municipal   research,    and  other 
private  investigating  agencies. 

(4)  Reports  of  banks  and  insurance  companies. 

(5)  Reports  of  business  agencies,  employers'  associ- 

ations, boards  of  trade  and  chambers  of  com- 
merce. 
c — Legal   information  based  on  Federal,   State   and 
local  legislation  may  be  obtained  from  the  follow- 
ing sources : 

(1)  Statutes  of  the  Federal  Government. 

(2)  General  laws  of  the  State,  especially  editions 

of  ''revised  laws"  or  ''codes." 

(3)  Special  laws  relating  to  the  locality  or  to  local- 

ities of  the  same  class. 

(4)  City  Charters. 

(5)  City  Council  Ordinances,  rules  of  the  Board  of 

Aldermen,  Health  Board,  Police  Department, 
Commissioners,  etc. 

(6)  Regulations  of  various  city  and  town  depart- 

ments. 
d — Investigations  are  conducted  by  the  reports  pub- 
lished by  the  following  social  agencies  of  national 
scope. 

American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation,  131 
East  23  St.,  New  York  City. 

American  Association  for  Organizing  Family  Social 
Work,  130  Ea^t  22  St.,  New  York  City. 

American  Child  Hygiene  Association,  1211  Cathe- 
dral St.,  Baltimore,  Md. 

American  Public  Health  Association,  755  Boylston 
St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

American  Red  Cross,  Department  of  Civilian  Relief, 
Washington,  D.  C,  and  fourteen  divisional  offices. 
West  40  St.,  New  York  City. 

American    Social    Hygiene   Association,    Inc.,    105 


44     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

American    Unitarian    Association,    Department    of 

Social  and  Public  Service,  25  Beacon  St.,  Boston, 

Mass. 
Boy's  Club  Federation,  1  Madison  Ave,,  New  York 

City. 
Committee  for  Immig:rants  in  America  and  National 

Americanization  Committee,  20  West  34  St.,  New 

York  City. 
Committee  of  One  Hundred  on  National  Health,  203 

East  27  St.,  New  York  City. 
Committee    on    Provision    for   the    Feeble-Minded, 

Empire  Building,  Phila.,  Pa. 
Community   Service,   Inc.,   1    Madison   Ave.,   New 

York  City. 
The  Federal  Council  of  Churches  of  Christ  in  Amer- 
ica, Commission  on  the  Church  and  Social  Service, 

105  East  22  St.,  New  York  City. 
Intcrchurch  World  Movement  of  North  America, 

46  West  18  St.,  New  York  City. 
The   Joint    Commission    on   Social   Service   of  the 

Protestant    Episcopal    Church,    Church   Missions 

House,  281  Fourth  Ave.,  New  York  City. 
National  Association  for  the  Study  and  Prevention 

of  Tuberculosis,  105  East  22  St.,  New  York  City. 
National  Child  Labor  Committee,  105  East  22  St., 

New  York  City. 
National  Committee  for  Mental  Hygiene,  50  Union 

Square,  New  York  City. 
National    Committee    on    Prisons,    Columbia    Uni- 
versity, New  York  City. 
National  Conference  of  Social  Work,  315  Plymouth 

Court,  Chicago,  111. 
National  Consumer's  League,  289  Fourth  Ave.,  New 

York  City. 
National  Federation  of  Remedial  Loan  Associations, 

130  East  22  St.,  New  York  City. 
National  Federation  of  Settlements,  20  Union  Park, 

Boston,  Mass. 
National  Housing  Association,  105  East  22  St.,  New 

York  City. 


EXAMINATION  OF  SOURCES  45 

National  League  of  Women  Workers,  6  East  45  St., 
New  York  City. 

National  Traveler's  Aid  Association,  465  Lexington 
Ave.,  New  York  City. 

National  Board  of  Young  Women's  Christian  Asso- 
ciations, 600  Lexington  Ave.,  New  York  City. 

Playground  and  Recreation  Association  of  America, 
1  Madison  Ave.,  New  York  City. 

Russell  Sage  Foundation,  Charity  Organization 
Department,  and  Department  of  Surveys  and 
Exhibits,  130  East  22  St.,  New  York  City. 

Society  of  Sanitary  and  Moral  Prophylaxis,  105 
West  40  St.,  New  York  City. 

SELECTED  REFERENCES 

Bowley,  A.  L. — Elementary  Manual  of  Statistics, 
1910,  Ch.  8.     Rules  for  using  published  statistics. 

Giddings,  F.  B..— Inductive  Sociology,  1902,  pp.  17-20. 

Gross,  H.  (H.  M.  Kallen  translation) — Crimiiial  Psy- 
chology, 1911. 

Koren,  J.  (editor) — The  History  of  Statistics,  1918. 

Langlois,  C.  V.,  and  Seignobos,  C.  (G.  G.  Berry  trans- 
lation)— Introduction  to  the  Study  of  History,  1912. 

Newsholme,  A. — The  Elements  of  Vital  Statistics,  1899, 
Ch.  27. 

Secrist,  PI. — A71  Introduction  to  Statistical  Methods, 
1917,  Ch.  2,  Sources  of  Statistical  Data. 

Vincent,  J.  M. — Historical  Research,  1910. 

Whipple,  G.  M. — Manual  of  Mental  and  Physical 
Tests,  1910,  pp.  286  et  seq. 

Wigmore,  J.  H. — The  Principles  of  Judicial  Proof, 
1913. 


PART  II 


SCOPE  AND  ORGANIZATION  OF  FIELD 
WORK 


CHAPTER  III 

TYPES   OP   FIELD   WORK  AND   THEIR  PROBLEMS 

When  the  investigator  has  gathered  all  the 
available  information  about  his  problem  which 
may  exist  in  documents  and  written  records,  he  is 
ready  to  undertake  field  work  provided  that  the 
documentary  material  covers  the  problem  only 
incompletely. 

Field  work  should  be  carefully  planned  and 
never  hastily  entered  upon.  Three  tolerably  dis- 
tinct techniques  have  been  developed  in  the  field 
Avork  investigation  of  social  conditions,  each 
adapted  to  a  particular  class  of  problems  and  de- 
signed for  the  handling  of  special  kinds  of  data. 
The  student  should  determine  which  type  of  field 
work  is  best  suited  to  the  kind  of  problem  con- 
fronting him,  and  whether  a  combination  of  two 
of  the  special  techniques  will  not  be  advantageous. 
These  considerations  apply  in  planning  out  the 
field  investigation. 

the  three  types  op  field  work 

Field  work  falls  into  the  following  three  types, 
each  distinct  from  the  others  in  its  main  charac- 
teristics although  blending  off  to  details  in  the 
application : 

46 


TYPES  AND  THEIR  PROBLEMS     47 

(1)  case  work — the  intensive  investigation  of 

individuals  or  families. 

(2)  sampling — the  selection  of  a  representative 

portion  less  than  the  whole — the  partial 
canvass. 

(3)  complete  enumeration — as  in  a  government 

census — a  full  canvass. 

These  three  types  of  field  work  roughly  corre- 
spond to  a  threefold  gradation  of  social  data :  the 
individual,  the  group,  and  the  entire  community. 
The  first  consideration  in  planning  field  work  is 
then  to  select  the  type  of  technique  best  adapted 
for  the  direct  study  of  the  class  of  social  data  ac- 
tually involved  in  the  problem  under  considera- 
tion. This  distinction  may  be  made  clear  by  rep- 
resenting the  unit  to  be  investigated  as  corre- 
sponding to  the  apex,  an  upper  cross-section,  and 
the  base  of  a  triangle,  thus : 

Type   of   field   work   technique         Gradation    of    social    data 
( 1 )   Case  work  The  individual 


(2)  Sampling 

(3)  Complete  enumeration 


PROBLEMS   OF   FIELD   WOEK 

In  case  work  the  focus  of  interest  is  the  individ- 
ual, but  the  central  problem  of  method  is  the 
trained  field  worker.  In  sampling  the  focus  of  in- 
terest is  the  group  or  some  part  less  than  the 


48     FIELD  WOEK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

whole,  but  the  central  problem  of  method  is  selec- 
tion of  the  part  to  be  studied.  In  complete  enu- 
meration there  is  no  focus  of  interest  since  the 
whole  population  is  to  be  studied  and  the  central 
problem  of  method  is  organization  of  a  field  staff 
of  untrained  workers. 

The  problems  of  field  work  may  be  conveni- 
ently grouped  under  five  headings:  (1)  sources  of 
data,  (2)  methods  of  recording  unbiased  observa- 
tions of  social  facts,  (3)  the  selection  and  instruc- 
tion of  the  field  staff,  (4)  organization  and  super- 
vision of  field  work,  and  (5)  the  editing  of  data 
on  schedules.  These  different  problems  will  be 
given  detailed  treatment  in  the  chapters  that  fol- 
low, but  in  order  that  the  student  may  obtain  a 
coherent  and  unified  view  of  them,  a  brief  outline 
of  each  will  be  given  in  this  chapter  followed  by 
descriptions  of  several  important  investigations 
which  illustrate  all  of  the  different  types  of  field 
work  in  combination. 

The  sources  of  field  work  data  to  be  used  in  any 
given  study,  depend  upon  the  character  of  the 
problem  under  consideration.  Visits  to  individu- 
als or  families  in  their  own  homes  may  be  neces- 
sary. In  some  cases  visits  to  mills,  interviews 
with  foremen  and  managers,  or  conferences  with 
public  officials  or  others  in  a  position  to  supply 
information  or  to  direct  the  investigator  to  points 
of  vantage,  may  be  requisite.  Field  work  often 
involves  the  use  of  employer's  pay-rolls,  public 
records  of  vital  statistics,  records  of  fraternal  and 


TYPES  AND  THEIR  PROBLEMS  49 

labor  organizations  and  of  national  welfare  soci- 
eties. Such  sources  as  the  latter  should  be  sub- 
jected to  critical  examination  in  the  light  of  the 
principles  developed  in  the  last  chapter. 

One  of  the  most  difficult  problems  of  field  work 
is  that  of  establishing  conditions  which  encourage 
the  recording  of  unbiased  observations  of  social 
facts.  In  the  first  chapter,  we  discussed  the  gen- 
eral aspects  of  this  problem  from  the  point  of  view 
of  social  science.  In  chapter  vii,  this  problem 
will  be  treated  in  considerable  detail  and  the  vari- 
ous mechanical  aids  to  correct  observation  and 
accurate  recording  described.  At  this  stage  in 
our  treatment  of  field  work,  it  will  be  advanta- 
geous simply  to  mention  the  chief  elements  in  this 
problem  of  observation  and  recording. 

First  impressions  are  often  lasting,  but  fre- 
quently untrustworthy.  How  may  we  make  our 
initial  observation  of  the  social  fact,  both  lasting 
and  accurate?  A  satisfactory  answer  to  this 
question  will  be  found  if  we  can  discover  how  the 
impression  may  be  objectified  and  the  recording 
of  it  standardized.  The  schedule  used  by  the 
field  worker  is  a  mechanical  device  which  is  de- 
signed to  provide  him  with  a  method  of  limiting 
or  controlling  his  observation  and  of  standardiz- 
ing the  method  of  recording  that  observation.  In 
so  far  as  inquiries  on  the  schedule  are  put  in  a 
form  which  can  be  answered  by  a  numerical  or 
quantitative  statement  or  by  **yes''  or  ^*no,''  the 
subjective    characteristics    of    the    field    worker 


50     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

which  may  bias  his  opinion  are  eliminated. 
Schedules  follow  standard  forms  so  that  the  re- 
cording of  the  observation  is  methodical  and  pre- 
cise. 

Trained  observers  are  much  to  be  desired^  yet  it 
is  difficult  to  secure  the  services  of  expert  field 
workers.  It  is  rarely  the  case,  as  in  the  Pitts- 
burgh Survey,  that  a  field  staff  of  competent  ex- 
perts can  be  gathered  together.  The  director  of 
an  investigation  must  often  be  satisfied  with 
trained  field  workers  as  chiefs  of  important 
branches  of  investigation,  or  as  supervisors,  and 
fill  out  the  rank  and  file  of  his  staff  with  a  partially 
trained  personnel.  The  extreme  of  this  is  found 
in  the  work  of  a  government  census,  in  which  the 
posts  of  ** expert  special  agents"  are  hard  to  fill, 
in  which  many  of  the  supervisors  or  inspectors 
lack  special  training,  and  in  which  the  great  army 
of  enumerators  is  made  up  of  wholly  untrained 
field  workers.  To  a  considerable  extent  the  dis- 
advantage of  an  untrained  staff  of  field  workers, 
may  be  offset  by  thorough  organization  of  the 
field  work.  Careful  preplanning  of  all  details,  so 
that  the  great  majority  of  difficulties  of  canvass  in 
the  field  may  be  anticipated  and  guarded  against, 
instruction  of  the  field  statf  in  the  essentials  of 
their  work  before  it  is  begun,  and  the  preparation 
of  standard  forms  of  schedules  and  written  in- 
structions, do  much  to  neutralize  personnel  draw- 
backs. 

Adequate  supervision  and  inspection  of  work 


TYPES  AND  THEIR  PROBLEMS     51 

in  the  field  as  the  canvass  or  investigation  pro- 
gresses should  be  provided  for  in  the  organization 
of  the  inquiry.  Supervisors  or  inspectors  should 
hold  frequent  conferences  with  field  workers  to 
answer  their  questions  and  to  straighten  out  com- 
plications. Examination  of  their  daily  work  by 
inspectors  is  essential  to  complete  and  accurate 
returns  by  field  workers.  Eegular  and  methodi- 
cal reporting  by  each  field  worker  every  day  to 
the  central  office  of  the  director,  where  practi- 
cable, is  often  a  good  plan.  Eeports  on  the 
progress  of  the  investigation  in  the  field  should 
be  made  periodically  by  inspectors  or  supervisors. 
Field  work  organized  in  this  way  will  produce  re- 
turns which  require  a  minimum  of  editing  in  the 
office  after  the  investigation  is  completed. 

THE  INVESTIGATION    OF   INDUSTRIAL   RELATIONS 

The  field  work  investigations  of  the  United 
States  Commission  on  Industrial  Eelations  ^^  sup- 
ply an  excellent  example  of  organization  and 
method  in  social  research.  The  public  hearings 
conducted  by  this  Commission  and  given  wide  pub- 
licity through  the  daily  press  attracted  consider- 
able attention.  The  field  work  study  is  not  so 
generally  known  but  it  provides  an  illustration  of 
some  of  the  important  principles  of  organized  so- 
cial study. 

In  charge  of  the  investigation  was  a  director 

22  Described  in  The  Stirvey,  vol.  33,  no.  22,  p.  578  et  seq.,  Feb. 
27,  1915. 


52     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

and  an  assistant  director.  There  were  nine  divi- 
sions to  the  inquiry,  each  with  its  own  chief  and 
staff  of  field  workers.  The  divisions  were  as  fol- 
lows: 

1.  Legal  and  legislative. 

2.  Labor   organizations   and   collective   bar- 

gaining. 

3.  Unemployment. 

4.  Agricultural  problems. 

5.  Education  and  preparation  for  life. 

6.  Welfare  and  social  insurance. 

7.  Safety  and  sanitation. 

8.  Underlying  causes  of  industrial  unrest. 

9.  Women  in  industry. 

A  methodical  reporting  system  was  devised 
whereby  daily  and  weekly  reports  were  made  by 
men  in  the  field.  Each  field  worker,  immediately 
upon  the  completion  of  a  distinct  phase  of  his 
work,  reported  to  the  chief  of  his  division.  These 
reports  were  subsequently  sent  to  the  central  of- 
fice for  file.  At  intervals  of  from  six  weeks  to 
two  months,  each  division  director  reported  to 
date,  on  investigations  of  his  field  staff.  These 
reports  were  known  as  *' preliminary  reports.*' 
The  reports  of  field  workers  sent  to  the  central 
office  formed  the  appendices  to  these  preliminary 
reports.  The  advantages  of  such  a  reporting  sys- 
tem were  that  the  director  of  the  investigation  had 
at  his  finger  tips  all  the  time  the  complete  output 


TYPES  AND  THEIR  PROBLEMS     53 

of  the  investigation  to  date  and  at  any  time  could 
turn  in  a  final  report. 

Supplementary  to  this  system  of  field  work  re- 
porting, a  complete  library  system  of  records  wgs 
established.  Under  the  direction  of  a  trained 
librarian,  everything  was  indexed  and  cross-in- 
dexed under  subject,  industry  and  locality  (in- 
cluding testimony  taken  at  public  hearings).  The 
result  was  that  any  part  of  the  great  volume  of 
material  could  be  found  at  any  moment  without 
difficulty. 

The  personnel  of  the  field  staff  was  unusually 
high  for  social  and  industrial  inquiries.  In  the 
Legal  and  Legislative  Division  of  the  investiga- 
tion, field  workers  had  the  following  qualifica- 
tions :  Field  worker  number  one  had  been  a  grad- 
uate student  in  social  science  at  a  well-known  uni- 
versity and  had  there  served  as  a  teacher  of  eco- 
nomics, he  had  also  served  as  statistician  of  a 
State  Industrial  Commission  and  for  six  years  had 
been  secretary  to  a  congressman.  Field  worker 
number  two  had  been  a  graduate  student  of  eco- 
nomics and  a  teacher  of  economics  in  a  university 
and  had  made  a  field  work  study  of  local  govern- 
ment in  corporation-controlled  communities  in  the 
United  States.  Field  worker  number  three  had 
been  a  dean  of  women  at  a  university,  she  had 
studied  sociology  in  the  graduate  department  of 
another  university,  and  had  received  special  train- 
ing in  psychology.  In  the  Division  on  Labor  and 
Collective  Bargaining,  the  chief  was  a  professor 


54    FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

of  statistics  in  a  university,  and  on  his  field  staff 
were  four  university  professors  of  economics, 
each  with  a  reputation  in  his  own  field,  and  one 
other  man  who  had  been  a  graduate  student  of 
economics  and  had  served  as  an  expert  in  a  State 
Bureau  of  Statistics.  The  chief  of  the  Division 
on  Unemployment  was  a  well-known  student  of 
the  subject,  which  he  had  investigated  in  Europe 
and  America  at  first  hand;  he  was  assisted  by 
three  trained  economists  with  field  work  experi- 
ence. Other  divisions  were  similarly  composed 
of  trained  investigators. 

HEALTH  INVESTIGATION 

Another  example  of  well-organized  social  inves- 
tigation is  that  of  the  field  work  study  of  the 
Health  Insurance  Commission  ^^  of  the  State  of 
Illinois  into  the  standards  of  living  of  wage-earn- 
ing families  in  Chicago.  Since  the  object  of  this 
part  of  the  Commission 's  work  was  to  secure  data 
on  sickness,  medical  services  and  protection 
against  health  risks,  the  families  to  be  studied 
were  selected  in  three  ways:  (1)  a  block  study, 
(2)  a  nursing  service  study,  and  (3)  a  charity 
study. 

In  the  block  study  the  following  procedure  was 
used.  A  canvass  of  every  family  on  certain  blocks 
representative  of  the  group  of  wage-earners  in 
Chicago,  was  determined  on  rather  than  a  visit 

23  Report  of  the  Health  Insurance  Commissi6n,  May  1,  1919, 
pp.  179-184. 


I 


TYPES  AND  THEIR  PROBLEMS  55 


to  families  selected  at  random  throughout  the 
city,  because  the  former  plan  gave  greater  oppor- 
tunity for  control  and  selection  of  families  and 
for  verification  of  results.  The  social  block  (in- 
stead of  the  geographical  block),  consisting  of 
two  sides  of  a  residential  street,  was  made  the 
unit  of  investigation,  since  the  social  block  repre- 
sents a  natural  social  grouping.  Blocks  were 
carefully  chosen  to  represent  such  essential  ele- 
ments of  their  social  composition  as,  physical 
structure,  racial  composition  (normal  distribu- 
tion of  different  immigrants  and  racial  groups  in 
Chicago),  economic  condition  (adequate  represen- 
tation of  all  degrees  of  economic  condition  from 
casual  laborer  to  skilled  workman),  and  location 
with  reference  to  such  social  resources  as  dispen- 
saries, hospital  and  welfare  agencies. 

The  nursing  study  of  304  families  selected  by 
the  Visiting  Nurse  Association  from  their  own 
cases  was  designed  to  represent  the  problems  in- 
volved in  medical  service. 

One  thousand  families  in  which  sickness  of  the 
wage-earner  was  considered  as  a  problem  enter- 
ing into  dependency  were  obtained  from  the 
United  Charities  and  Jewish  Aid  Society's  lists. 
This  group  was  chiefly  composed  of  *^ current^' 
cases,  that  is,  of  families  receiving  relief  or  su- 
pervision. There  was  also  a  considerable  number 
of  **  closed  cases,  ^'  that  is,  families  which  at  the 
time  had  regained  independence,  but  which  a 
short  time  before  had  been  receiving  aid.    Some 


FAMILY  SCHEDULE. 

On  list  of 

Schedule  number 

Investigator 

Date 

HEALTH  INSURANCE  COMMISSION. 
Eamily  Schedule,  F.  2. 

1 

Nationality  of  family.  Name.  Address. 

2 

House  or  apartment.      Front  or  rear.      Floor.      No.  of  rooms.      No.  of  persons. 

3 

Condition  of  house:     Good — fair — ^bad;  Clean — dirty — filthy.     Rent  per  mo, 

4.  Family  Status  and  Employment. 


Members 
of 

Sex. 

Age. 

Present 
or 

usual 
employ- 
ment. 

Aver- 
age 

earn- 
ings 
per 

week. 

Weeks  unem- 
ployed last  12 
months 
because  of 

Earn- 
ings 
last 
12 
mos. 

No.  of 
employ- 
ers 
during 
last  12 
mos. 

family. 

Sick- 
ness. 

Other 
rea- 
son. 

Father    .  . 

Mother    .  . 
Children: 
1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 ».. 



1 
1 

I 
....... 









5.  Other  sources  of  income  (specify) 

6.  Total  family  income  last  year? Suriilus  or  deficit?.  . 

7.  How  was  deficit  met?  (enter  relief  in  full) 

8.  Valu«  of  property  owned Encumbrance  on  same. 

9.  Other  indebtedness 


Figure   3.     Family    Schedule    used    in    investigations   by   Health 

Insurance  Commission  of  Illinois. 

56 


10.  Sickness  during  last  12  months. 


Members 

of 
family. 

Nature 

of 
iUness. 

Dura- 
tion. 

Doctor 

employed 

(Co.  or 

other). 

Doctor 
bill. 

Hospital 

care 
(name). 

Hospi- 
tal bill. 

Nursing 
care — by 

whom 
and  cost. 

Father   .  . 

Mother  . . 
Children : 
1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

' 



11.  Dispensary  record  during  last  fwelre  months. 


Names    of   dis- 
pensaries vis- 
ited  with 
number  of 
visits  to  each. 

Nature 

of 
ailment. 

Nature 

of 
treat- 
ment. 

Dispensary  charges. 

Members  of 
family. 

Admis- 
sion fee. 

Charge  for  medi- 
cines or  opera- 
tion  (specify). 

Father    

Mother     

Children : 

1 









2 

3. 

4 

5 

6 

12. 


Doctor's  fee  for  house  visit.     Office  visit.     Cost  of  medicine  for  the  year. 

13.  How  is  dental  work  secured?.  .  .  .Cost  of  dental  work  for  the  yeart.  . . . 

14.  Note  any  neglect  of  dental  work 

57 


15.  Insurance. 


Life  insurance. 

Sickness  insurance  or 
sick  fund. 

Members 

of 
famUy. 

Am't. 
car- 
ried. 

Name 

of 
com- 
pany. 

Type  of 
company — 
industrial, 
fraternal, 

order, 
union,  etc. 

Weekly 

pre- 
mium. 

Name 

of 
carrier 

or 
fund. 

Weekly 

pre- 
mium. 

Weekly 
benefit. 

Father   .. 

Mother    . 
Children : 

1 

2 

8 

4 

5 

6 











16.  Note  lapses  of  insurance  policies  with  reason. 


17.  For   each  member   of   family   who  received   insurance   during   the   last 

twelve  months,  specify  amount  received  and  state  what  was  done  with 
life  or  industrial  insurance  policies  paid 

18.  What,  if  any,  provision  is  made  by  any  of  the  above  institutions   (in 

"15")  for  medical  or  nursing  care? 


19.  Has  any  death  occurred  in  family  in  past  year?, 
If  so.   cost  of  burial  ? 


20.  Has  a  child  been  born  in  family  during  past  year? Physician 

or  midwife  employed  ? Fee  of  same 


Nursing  care  and  fee.  Hospital  service.  Hospital  bill. 

If  employed,  number  of  weeks  absent  from  work  before  confinement?, 


*1. 


If  employment  resumed,  number  of  weeks  after  confinement  ? , 


Note  here  any  significant  facts  not  entered  above,  such  as:  (a)  illness 
of  long  standing  and  doctor  employed  and  bills;  (b)  connection  of 
doctors  with  dispensary;  (c)  quack  doctors  and  patent  medicines; 
(d)  delay  in  securing  treatment  with  reason;  (e)  attitude  towards 
dispensary;  (f)  changes  in  standard  of  living  due  to  sickness  (mov- 
ing to  cheaper  quarters,  wife  or  children  taking  employment,  etc.); 
(g)  charity  record,  including  date  of  first  application  and  any  infor- 
mation bearing  on  the  cause  of  the  situation,  the  income  per  month 
while  helped  by  charity  during  present  emergency,  etc.  All  of  these 
points  may  possibly  be  combined  into  a  story. 
58 


APPENDIX  B.     IHSTRUOTIONS  FOR  INVESTIGATORS. 

General. 

The  General  Assembly  of  Illinois  by  Act  approved  June  23,  1917, 
created  a  special  Health  Insurance  Commission.  It  is  collecting 
data  for  its  report.  Data  collected  are  for  scientific  use  only; 
all  information  must  be  regarded  as  confidential.  In  all  cases 
these  things  should  be  explained  and  persons  interviewed  should 
be  told  that  the  facts  given  by  them  will  not  be  used  except  in 
making  up  general  tables.  It  should  be  made  clear,  also,  that 
this  is  a  government  investigation.  Each  agent  collecting  data 
will  have  proper  credentials,  coimtersigned  by  the  Governor  of  the 
State.  Agents  should  secure  accurate  information  bearing  upon 
such  points  as  find  place  in  this  schedule.  Be  careful  to  set 
down  everything  you  learn  of  any  importance  for  the  purpose  of 
the  investigation.  Pertinent  information  not  fitting  into  any  spe- 
cial place  should  be  entered  at  the  end  of  schedule. 

Those  collecting  data  for  the  commission  should  seek  to  develop 
the  cooperative  spirit  on  the  part  of  those  interviewed.  Unless 
this  is  developed  good  data  cannot  be  secured.  Thought,  patience, 
tact,  and  courteous  treatment  are  indispensable.  Investigators 
must  not  demand  anything;  they  should  be  able  to  command 
everything  because  of  the  tremendous  importance  of  the  data  to 
everybody. 

Every  question  must  have  an  answer.  Where  information  can- 
not be  obtained,  write  "n.r."  for  no  report.  Where  the  question 
is  not  in  point,  either  because  of  the  answer  to  a  previous  ques- 
tion or  for  other  reasons,  draw  a  dash  in  the  space  for  the  answer. 

Write  so  that  entries  can  be  read. 

Detailed  Instructions. 

"On  list  of"  means  United  Charities,  Central  Free  Dispensary, 
Block  4700  South  Halsted,  etc.  Schedules  of  each  investigator 
are  to  be  numbered  consecutively,  beginning  w'ith  1. 

1.  Nationality.  If  white  and  native  born,  enter  "U.  S.  White;" 
if  colored,  enter  "Negro;"  if  foreign  born  enter,  as  a  rule,  coun- 
try of  birth  (e.g.  Italy),  but  in  case  of  Austria  and  Russia  indi- 
cate race  by  entering  "Russian  Jew,"  "Galician  Pole,"  etc.  Coun- 
try of  birth  or  race  of  father  determines  entry. 

2.  Enter  H.  or  A.  A  house  is  a  one  family  dwelling.  The  two 
following  entries  are  not  to  be  filled  out  for  house : 

F.  or  R.  (Front  or  rear).  This  refers  to  location  of  apartment 
in  the  house.  If  a  middle  or  through  apartment  is  found  write 
that  in.  If  apartment  is  in  a  rear  house,  that  may  be  indicated 
by  giving  first  location  in  the  house  and  adding  "R.  H."  Enter 
B  or  floor  number.     Enter  number  of  persons  including  lodgers. 

3.  Enter  G,  F  or  B  and  C,  D  or  F. 

69 


4.  Enter  only  children  living  at  home  and  children  who  have 
died  within  the  last  12  months.  Names  of  children  should  be 
entered  and  in  order  of  birth.  If  father,  mother  or  child  is  dead, 
enter  that  fact  with  date  of  death  in  space  immediately  follow- 
ing name.  Present  emplojonent,  earnings  per  week,  lost  time, 
and  yearly  earnings  can  be  worked  together.  Average  earnings 
per  week  means  at  present  or  when  on  last  job.  In  general,  the 
weekly  and  yearly  earnings  should  check  M^hen  proper  allowance 
is  made  for  unemployment.  One  exception  to  this  is  when  the 
rate  of  pay  has  changed  during  the  year;  another  when  women 
and  children  have  started  to  work  during  the  year.  Either  fact 
should  be  explained  in  note. 

If  unemployed  write  in  "unemployed"  and  give  usual  employ- 
ment.    If  present  employment  differs  from  usual,  give  both. 

Give  specific  nature  of  job  and  industry,  e.  g.  Laborer-Stock 
Yards.  If  man  changes  employers  frequently  enter  "Casual"  e.  g. 
Labor-casual.  Enter  "o.  a."  if  in  business  for  self,  e.  g.  "Grocer- 
0.  a." 

Weeks  unemployed  is  to  be  filled  in  for  wage-earners  only. 
Weeks  unemployed  because  of  sickness  refers  to  sickness  of  wage- 
earner  only.  U^nemployment  because  of  sickness  of  others  should 
be  entered  under  "other  reasons."  "Other  reasons" — do  not  spe- 
cify reason.  Give  total  weeks  unemployed.  Notice  this  does  not 
include  single  days  unemployment. 

^lembers  of  the  family  who  did  not  start  work  until  some  time 
within  the  year  are  not  to  be  counted  unemployed  for  the  time 
when  that  was  their  normal  condition.  If  they  work  because  of 
sickness  of  wage-earner,  be  sure  to  note  that  fact  under  "21." 

Number  of  employers  during  year — not  jobs.  Names  of  em- 
ployers not  wanted. 

5.  Enter  amount  from  each  source.  Probable  sources  are  board- 
ers or  lodgers,  rent  from  property,  insurance  policies,  sick  bene- 
fits.    Do  not  include  relief  or  gifts. 

6.  Total  family  income  will  normally  equal  sum  of  earnings  in 

4  plus  5.     When  there  are  children  of  legal  age  whose  earnings 
are  not  contributed  to  family  income,  put  their  contributions  under 

5  and  explain  in  note  why  6  does  not  equal  4  plus  5. 

Surplus  or  deficit — give  amount.  Where  deficit  is  made  up  by 
relief  in  kind,  estimate  value  if  possible;  otherwise  itemize  things 
actually  received. 

7.  Specify  amount  from  each  source;  get  relief  from  U.  C.  from 
their  records.  Notice  that  other  indebtedness  (9)  is  repeated 
here  unless  incurred  previous  to  last  year. 

8.  Enter  only  value  of  real  property  owned. 

9.  Bills  overdue,  but  not  current  bills  are  to  be  entered.  Specify 
nature  and  amount  of  each  debt,  e.  g.  "grocer,  $20." 

10.  Make  some  entry  for  every  member  of  family  in  order  used 

60 


in  4.  Names  need  not  be  re-entered.  Answer  every  question  for 
every  sickness.  If  one  member  of  the  family  has  had  more  than 
one  sickness,  use  two  lines  and  change  numbering  at  sides.  Ag  to 
what  constitutes  sickness,  the  investigator  must  use  his  best  judg- 
ment. Do  not  enter  minor  chronic  complaints  such  as  ordinary 
rheumatism,  indigestion,  etc.,  which  do  not  incapacitate  patient 
for  usual  work.  Serious  complaints  such  as  tuberculosis  should 
of  course  be  entered  even  though  patient  is  still  at  work.  In 
other  cases,  do  not  couiit  a  wage-earner  ill  unless  he  is  inca- 
pacitated for  work  for  A  week  or  more  and  do  not  count  others 
ill  unless  they  are  confined  to  bed  for  that  same  time.  Excep- 
tion to  this  rule  should  of  course  be  made  in  any  case  of  any 
important  shorter  illness,  as  e.  g.  removal  of  tonsils.  Maternity 
cases,  including  abortions,  etc.,  are  not  to  be  included  here  but 
listed  under  20. 

Duration.  Usually  time  lost  or  confined  to  bed.  Express  in 
weeks.  Cases  in  which  patient  is  partially  incapacitated  present 
more  difficulties:  duration  may  be  counted  from  time  patient 
stopped  his  usual  for  lighter  work,  from  time  of  diagnosis  if  there 
is  reason  to  think  it  was  diagnosed  reasonably  early,  or  from 
time  when  patient  first  complained.  If  duration  is  over  a  year, 
express  in  years  and  months. 

Doctor.     Specify  county  or  other.     Do  not  enter  name  of  doctor. 

11.  Make  entry  for  every  member  of  family  as  in  10.  Enter  vis- 
its for  examination  as  well  as  for  treatment.  Nature  of  treat- 
ment.    Be  as  specific  as  possible. 

12.  This  means  fee  for  each  visit. 

15.  Make  entry  for  each  meml>er  of  family  under  both  life  and 
sickness  insurance.  Include  insurance  at  present  carried  and  in- 
surance carried  at  time  of  death  for  members  of  the  family  who 
have  died  in  the  past  12  months.  Care  should  be  taken  to  get 
accurate  information  on  these  questions. 

Amount.  If  children's  insurance  varies  with  age  and  length  of 
time  policy  is  held,  give  minimum  and  maximum. 

Isame  of  Company.  If  there  is  not  space  to  write  out  name, 
abbreviate  and  explain  abbreviation  in  footnote  except  for  well- 
known  companies,  e.g.  "Prudential,"  "Metropolitan." 

Under  sickness  insurance,  weekly  benefit  means  the  benefit  called 
for  by  the  policy  not  the  benefit  actually  received.  Enter  the 
amount  of  cash  benefit  and  add  "And  medical  attention"  or  what- 
ever is  necessary  to  indicate  the  rights  of  the  insured.  If  more 
space  is  needed  write  "note"  and  describe  fully  at  end  of  schedule 
or  bottom  of  page. 

20.  Include  still  births,  miscarriages  and  abortions.  Enter  "P" 
or  "M."  If  nursing  care  given  by  association,  e.  g.  "\rNA" — 
specify.     Enter  name  of  hospital. 

61 


€2     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

372  cases  had  to  be  thrown  out  because  of  incom- 
plete information,  moving  away  or  family  disin- 
tegration, leaving  628  cases  finally  available  for 
intensive  study. 

The  same  schedule  was  used  in  all  three  divi- 
sions of  the  investigation.  This  schedule  was  de- 
veloped after  an  examination  of  schedules  used  in 
family  studies  made  elsewhere.  A  trial  schedule 
for  experimentation  was  first  mimeographed  and 
the  final  revision  (see  figure  3)  in  the  light  of  ex- 
perience included  the  following  inquiries.  **In  ad- 
dition to  the  usual  inquiries  in  regard  to  name, 
address,  nationality,  housing  conditions  and  rent, 
the  items  of  the  schedule  center  about  family  com- 
position; employment,  income,  surplus  and  de- 
ficit; value  of  property  owned;  the  sickness  his- 
tory of  every  member  of  the  family  during  the 
last  twelve  months;  provision,  need  and  cost  of 
dental  work ;  the  amount  and  type  of  life  and  dis- 
ability insurance  carried  by  members  of  the  fam- 
ily ;  the  dispensary  record  for  all  members  of  the 
family  during  the  last  twelve  months;  deaths  in 
the  family  during  the  year  and  cost  of  burial; 
births  in  the  family  during  the  year ;  the  employ- 
ment of  physician  or  mid- wife;  and  the  cost  of 
nursing  care  and  hospital  service.  A  most  valu- 
able part  of  the  schedule  was  the  page  assigned  to 
a  history  of  the  family  known  as  the  *  story'  in 
which  were  entered  the  significant  facts  not  other- 
w^ise  specifically  called  for,  as,  for  example,  the 
sickness  experience  of  the  family  during  a  period 


TYPES  AND  THEIR  PROBLEMS     63 

of  years,  their  attitude  towards  physicians,  dis- 
pensaries and  social  agencies,  changes  in  the 
standard  of  living  during  the  year  due  to  sick- 
ness, complete  charity  record,  etc/ ^  24 

The  field  staff  of  this  investigation  was  se- 
lected on  the  basis  of  background  of  social  train- 
ing, as  well  as  of  experience  and  success  in  social 
investigations.  Command  of  languages  of  the 
chief  immigrant  groups  of  Chicago  was  another 
qualification.  The  field  workers  were  either  ad- 
vanced students  of  economics  and  sociology  at 
the  University  of  Chicago  and  the  Chicago  School 
of  Civics  and  Philanthropy,  Eegistered  Nurses  of 
the  Visiting  Nurse  Association,  or  experienced 
salaried  investigators. 

Instruction  and  supervision  of  the  field  work 
was  provided  for.  Each  investigator  was  given 
a  card  of  identification  by  the  Commission  which 
certified  his  appointment  as  an  official  agent  of 
the  government.  Mimeographed  instructions 
were  supplied  each  field  worker  covering  in  detail 
the  items  on  the  schedule.  Before  the  field  work 
began  conferences  of  the  staff  were  held  for  care- 
ful and  detailed  interpretation  of  the  schedule  and 
for  instruction  in  regard  to  methods  of  approach 
and  technique  of  investigation.  Inexperienced  in- 
vestigators were  given  a  demonstration  and  su- 
pervised in  the  field  by  the  official  supervisors  of 
the  Commission.  Field  workers  were  instructed 
to  state  at  once  to  perspective  informants  the  pur- 

^*Ihid.,  p.  181. 


64    FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

pose  of  their  visit  and  the  object  of  the  investiga- 
tion in  order  to  secure  intelligent  cooperation 
from  the  family  in  making  out  the  schedule. 
Schedules  filled  out  in  the  field  were  promptly 
edited  for  conference  with  the  field  worker  in  re- 
gard to  inaccurate  or  incomplete  entries.  Out  of 
2,708  wage-earning  families  in  the  ^^ block  study/' 
only  110  gave  incomplete  reports  of  total  family 
income,  an  entry  considered  one  of  the  most  dif- 
ficult to  secure. 

The  method  of  verifying  returns  is  well  out- 
lined in  a  paragraph  from  the  report.^^""  *^The 
Commission  availed  itself  of  every  opportunity  to 
verify  and  to  correct  the  data  secured  by  its 
agents  in  the  field.  The  leading  welfare  agencies 
in  Chicago  maintain  more  or  less  complete  records 
of  all  the  families  they  serve.  Practically  all  of 
the  more  important  social  agencies  register  their 
cases  either  with  the  Social  Service  Eegistration 
Bureau  or  with  the  Central  Bureau  of  the  Jewish 
Charities.  Agents  for  the  Commission  cleared  all 
the  schedules  collected  in  the  family  study  through 
these  two  registration  bureaus.  Through  the  co- 
operation of  the  Cook  County  Agent  all  schedules 
were  also  cleared  through  his  branch  ofiSces  in 
order  to  verify  the  statement  of  the  family  of  the 
fact  of  aid  received  and  to  determine  the  exact 
value  in  money  of  the  monthly  supplies  issued. 
So  far  as  the  records  made  it  feasible,  all  cases 
were  also  cleared  through  the  different  dispen- 

2*a76i<i,  pp.  181-3. 


TYPES  AND  THEIR  PROBLEMS     65 

saries  of  Chicago.  The  Municipal  Tuberculosis 
Sanitarium  gave  valuable  assistance  to  the  Com- 
mission by  reporting  the  exact  medical  diagnosis 
in  all  tuberculous  cases  recorded  by  it.  It  should 
also  be  restated  here  that  the  records  of  the 
United  Charities  and  of  the  Jewish  Aid  Society 
h£|d  been  consulted  by  the  agents  for  the  Commis- 
sion prior  to  their  visit  to  the  families.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  obvious  value  of  this  pooling  of  all  ac- 
cessible data  by  clearing  all  cases  through  the 
different  medical  and  charitable  agencies  of  the 
city,  two  significant  conclusions  were  derived. 
The  first  was  the  general  confirmation  of  the  com- 
pleteness and  accuracy  of  the  information  ob- 
tained by  the  investigators  for  the  Commission. 
Only  in  relatively  few  cases  were  there  serious 
omissions  or  discrepancies  requiring  correction. 
In  the  second  place,  records  of  dispensaries  often 
made  possible  a  precise  medical  definition  of  the 
nature  of  the  ailment.  The  difference  was  one  of 
precision  rather  than  correctness  of  the  statement, 
however,  because  the  reports  of  the  family  were 
with  but  few  exceptions  confirmed  by  the  examina- 
tion of  the  medical  record.  * ' 

INFANT   MOKTALITY 

One  of  the  most  interesting  field  work  investi- 
gations is  that  of  the  Federal  Children's  Bureau 
in  its  studies  of  infant  mortality.^^     The  usual 

25  Allen,  N.  F. — Infant  Mortality,  results  of  a  Field  Study  in 
Saginaw,  Mich.,  Children's  Bureau  Pub.,  No.  52,  1919. 


66    FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

method  of  studying  infant  mortality  is  to  obtain 
from  official  records  the  number  of  deaths  of  in- 
fants under  one  year  of  age  per  1000  live  births. 
Still  births  are  excluded  from  both  numerator 
and  denomenator  of  the  ratio.  The  usual  ap- 
proximate method  is  to  divide  the  number  of  reg- 
istered infant  deaths  under  one  year  of  age  for  a 
given  calendar  year,  by  the  number  of  registered 
live  births  for  the  same  year.  But  this  method 
secures  among  the  deaths,  inclusion  of  deaths  of 
infants  bom  in  the  preceding  calendar  year  or  in 
a  different  area,  as  well  as  deaths  of  infants  born 
in  the  same  calendar  year.  Moreover,  it  excludes 
deaths  of  infants  included  in  the  group  of  births  if 
the  deaths  occurred  either  in  a  different  area  or  in 
the  following  calendar  year.  In  other  words,  the 
two  numbers  used  in  the  ratio  (births  and  deaths), 
do  not  refer  to  the  same  group  of  infants.  This 
inaccuracy  is  necessarily  contained  in  all  infant 
mortality  rates  for  large  areas,  making  these  rates 
mere  approximations  to  the  true  infant  mortality 
rate.  Since,  however,  all  infant  mortality  rates 
for  large  areas  contain  these  same  errors,  they 
are  fairly  comparable. 

The  United  States  Children's  Bureau  attempts 
to  avoid  these  inaccuracies  by  its  special  method 
of  field  work  study  of  infant  mortality.  Each  in- 
fant born  in  a  selected  area  in  a  certain  calendar 
year  is  followed  through  a  period  of  twelve 
months.  The  general  plan  of  procedure  is  as  fol- 
lows: to  the  schedule  are  first  transferred  the 


TYPES  AND  THEIR  PROBLEMS  67 

birth  certificate  data  for  the  year  selected;  next, 
data  from  the  infantas  death  certificate  for  the 
year  selected  and  also  the  following  year  are 
copied  and  facts  as  to  deaths  of  infants  bom  in 
the  year  selected  are  transferred  to  the  schedule 
(the  address  of  the  mother  was  usually  obtained 
from  these  records) ;  finally,  the  field  worker  vis- 
its the  homes  and  by  means  of  personal  interviews 
with  the  mothers  collects  data  about  the  babies* 
lives  to  the  end  of  their  first  year,  or  until  death 
if  death  occurred  under  one  year  of  age. 

Before  field  work  is  started,  the  purpose  and 
nature  of  the  investigation  is  explained  fully 
through  newspapers,  by  clergy  (especially  of  non- 
English  speaking  peoples),  by  city  officials,  civic 
leagues,  in  mothers'  and  other  women's  clubs. 
This  prepares  the  way  for  the  field  work  and 
helps  to  overcome  obstacles  of  ignorance  and  sus- 
picion. Field  workers  then  proceed  to  the  col- 
lection of  records  of  births  and  deaths  from  offi- 
cial departments  of  the  city.  As  before  stated, 
the  data  on  birth  and  death  of  each  infant  born  in 
a  selected  calendar  year,  is  transferred  to  the 
schedule.  Several  groups  of  infants  for  whom 
information  is  inaccurate  or  incomplete,  are  ex- 
cluded as  follows:  illegitimate  births,  births  to 
mothers  during  the  year  who  moved  away  to  live 
in  another  area,  and  births  which  occurred  to 
non-resident  mothers.  Irregularities  in  records 
of  births  and  deaths  require  careful  treatment. 
Eecords  of  deaths  of  infants  in  the  selected  area 


WARD  No B.  0.  No D.  C.  No 

BABY.     1.  M.   F.     2.  L.   I.     3.  L.   B^    S   B.;   At   1   7»»r:   iiive.   Dead 

4.  Date  birth 

5.  Phy'n,  Mwf. — Name 

Address 

6.  Death  (a)  Date  (b)  Age  mos. 

(c)  CauBes 

(d)  Physician 

Defects.  Deforms.:  None,  Over.     Eyes:  OE  Orer 


7.  Feeding   (Months) 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

(a)  Breast 

(b)  Mixed 

(c)  Artificial 

(d)  Night  feedings 

Reasons  for  change 

8.  Milk  dealer  (a)  Name 
(b)  Kind:  Grocery,  Dairy,  Farm,  Oow  shed 

FATHER.     9.  Nationality 

10.  Age         11.  Sp.  Eng.:  Y.  N.     12.  Rd.  &  Wr.:  Y.  N.     13.  Yrs.  U.  S. 
14.  Occ. 

Ind.  Empr.  OA,  WE 

HOME.     15.  Street,  alley.     16.  Front,  rear.     17.  Fams.  in  bldg. 
18.  Persons:   (a)   Family  (b)   Lodgers  (c)   Others 

(d)  Total:  19.  Rooms  20.  Vent'n:   (a)  Means  O.     P.     P. 

(b)   Results,  Good,  Fair,  Poor  21.  Clean,  Medium,  Dirty 

22.  Water  (a)  Source:  City,  Spring,  Dug  well.  Driven  well,      (b)   In,  out 

23.  Toilet  (a)  Type  Fam.  exc.  use:  Yes,  No 
(b)   House,  porch,  yard,  cellar                    (c)   Persons  using 

24.  Direct  city  sewer  connection:   (a)  Sinks:  Yes,  No 
(b)  Toilet:  Yes,  No 

INCOME.     25.  Annual  earnings  (a)  Father,  $ 

(b)   Mother,  $  (c)   Other  income,  $  (d)  Total,  9 

MONTHLY  RENTAL.     26.  Amount,   $  Own.  free 


Figure  4.    Schedule  used  in  infant  mortality  investigation  at 

68 


MOTHER.     27.  Nationality                                                        1 

28.  Age        29.  Marriage  ages        duration         years      •             BABY 

30.  Sp.  Eng.:  Yes,  No           31.  Rd.  and  Wr.:  Yes,  No  ! 

32.  Yrs.  U.  S.                                                                         ; 

«  Nam« 

38.  Pregnancies                           (a)   Losses                            ; 

Mother's 
age 

Year 
of— 

Period 

Cause 

uorn  at 
Age  at  ! 
Death   ; 

Ist 

• 

2d 

8d 

4th 

5th 

«th 

7th 
8th 

i             MOTHER 

9th 
10th 

1  Name 

11th 
12th 

!  Addreii 

13th 

14th 

15th 

!                FATHF.R 

34.  Record  of  employments                   Age      ' 

;  Name 

1 
2 

•  Addreu 

8 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

85.  Work  (a)  Yr.  before  conf.                                                S 

(b)   Yr.  after  conf.                                                               J 

(c)   Ceased                before      (d)   Resumed         after       I 

36.  From  baby  ac.  -work  from             mo.  to             mo.       } 

(a)   Reg.,  Irreg.      (b)   Extent                                            j 

(c)   Caretaker: Relation                                 Age                    I 

87.  Usual  home  duties:   Servant  No  serrant  Occa.  help  ; 

(a)    Ceased  part  of  duties          before  (b)  All     before  1 

(c)   Resumed  part  of  duties           after  (d)  All     after  ; 

Baginaw,  Michigan,  by  U.  S.  Children's  Bureau. 

69 


70     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

whose  births  in  that  area  had  not  been  recorded 
are  discovered.  In  the  Johnstown  investigation 
it  was  fonnd  that  many  births  to  Serbian  mothers 
had  escaped  registration.  Accordingly  birth  rec- 
ords were  supplemented  by  baptismal  records  of 
the  Serbian  church  and  a  canvass  then  made  of 
the  principal  Serbian  quarter  of  the  city.  Moth- 
ers visited  were  always  asked  if  they  knew  of 
other  babies  in  the  neighborhood.  Unrecorded 
births  were  found  from  data  on  death  certificates, 
lists  of  births  that  occurred  in  hospitals,  and  from 
baptismal  records  of  different  churches.  A  total 
of  147  unregistered  births  were  found  for  the  city 
of  Saginaw,  Michigan,  in  1913. 

Justification  of  this  intensive  method  of  study 
by  field  work  investigation  is  found  in  its  results. 
From  the  study  of  infant  mortality  in  Saginaw, 
Michigan,  for  the  calendar  year  ending  November 
30,  1913,  a  rate  of  84.6  was  obtained  as  compared 
with  a  gross  recorded  rate  of  137.9.  This  result 
was  had  from  a  field  work  study  of  1,015  births 
selected  according  to  the  method  just  described 
and  occurring  in  a  population  of  53,161,  living  in 
a  city  of  diversified  industrial  life  with  23.3  per 
cent,  foreign  bom. 

The  field  work  investigations  described  in  this 
chapter  by  no  means  exhaust  the  variety  in  tech- 
nique exhibited  in  social  inquiries,  nor  do  they 
constitute  specific  examples  of  the  three  special 
techniques  of  field  work  (case  work,  sampling,  and 
complete   enumeration),  but  they  do   illustrate 


TYPES  AND  THEIR  PROBLEMS     71 

field  work  procedure  and  organization  at  its  best 
in  different  parts  of  the  field  of  social  investiga- 
tion, and  thus  suggest  to  the  research  student 
methods  which  have  actually  been  tried  out  with 
success. 

Bowley  ^^  gives  four  possible  sources  of  error  in 
the  investigation  of  social  conditions:  (1)  the  in- 
formation obtained  may  be  incorrect;  (2)  defini- 
tions and  standards  used  may  be  loose,  unsuitable, 
or  wrongly  conceived;  (3)  households  visited 
may  not  contain  a  fair  sample  of  the  whole  popu- 
lation; and  (4)  possibilities  of  error  arising  from 
the  process  of  estimating  the  whole  by  measuring 
a  part.  These  difficulties  and  others  will  be 
treated  in  the  remaining  chapters  of  the  book  de- 
scribing respectively,  case  work,  sampling,  com- 
plete enumeration,  schedules  and  editing. 

SELECTED  REFERENCES 

Children's  Bureau  of  the  United  States  Department 
of  Labor,  Infant  Mortality  Studies  in  Brockton,  Mass., 
Johnstown,  Pa.,  Manchester,  N.  H.,  Montclair,  N.  J.,  Sag- 
inaw, Mich.,  and  Waterbury,  Conn. 

Eugenics  Record  Office,  of  the  Carnegie  Institution  for 
Experimental  Evolution,  field  studies  in  the  heredity  of 
mental  defect,  such  memoirs  as,  The  Hill  Folk,  1913, 
and  The  Nam  Family,  1912,  and  bulletins. 

Federal  Commission  on  Industrial  Relations,  field  work 
of,  The  Survey,  vol.  33,  no.  22,  p.  578  et  seq.,  Feb.  27, 
1915. 

Goddard,  H.  K.—The  KalUkak  Family,  1913. 

26  Bowley,  A.  L.,  and  Burnet-Hurst,  A.  B. — Livelihood  cmd  Pov- 
erty, 1915,  pp.  174,  207. 


72     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

Health  Insurance  Commission,  report  of  State  of  Illi- 
nois, May  1,  1919. 

New  York  State  Factory  Investigating  Commission, 
reports  of  1913-1915,  especially  five  volumes  for  1915. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  INVESTIGATIVE   PROCEDURE   OF   CASE   WORK 

Of  the  three  techniques  of  field  work  in  social 
science — case  work,  sampling,  and  complete  enu- 
meration— the  first  mentioned  deals  with  the  in- 
dividual or  the  family  in  its  social  relationships. 
Where  the  latter  two  techniques  of  field  work  in- 
vestigation deal  with  a  larger  or  a  smaller  group 
of  individuals,  case  work  supplies  a  technique  for 
an  intensive  and  many-sided  study  of  the  indi- 
vidual. Social  case  workers  use  the  term  **case 
work*'  to  embrace  more  than  the  investigative 
procedure  of  studying  individuals ;  they  mean  by 
case  work  a  process  which  includes  besides  inves- 
tigation, diagnosis  of  social  situation,  and  treat- 
ment. In  this  chapter  the  term  case  work  is  used 
in  the  restricted  sense  first  mentioned,  that  is,  we 
shall  describe  the  principles  of  the  investigative 
procedure  of  case  work.  Again,  we  are  not  limit- 
ing our  description  to  investigation  in  ^*  social 
case  work,*'  but  enlarging  it  to  include  the  special 
variations  in  the  field  work  technique  of  clinical 
criminology  and  epidemiology. 

73 


74    FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

THE   UNDERLYING  LOGIC   OF   PROCEDURE 

Let  US  first  examine  the  underlying  logic  of  the 
procedure  used  by  the  social  worker  in  his  inves- 
tigation of  a  client.  Intelligent  treatment  of 
human  beings  in  misfortune  rests  on  a  social  diag- 
nosis which  takes  account  of  the  needs,  resources 
and  possibilities  of  each  case.  The  plan  of  treat- 
ment depends  upon  the  collection  of  evidence  and 
the  drawing  of  inferences  therefrom.  The  social 
worker  gathers  this  evidence  from  the  client,  from 
his  family,  and  from  sources  of  insight  outside 
the  family  group.  By  comparing  evidence  col- 
lected from  these  sources  it  becomes  possible  to 
draw  inferences  and  intelligently  to  plan  treat- 
ment. But  it  is  testimonial  evidence  that  the  so- 
cial worker  gathers  from  his  field  investigation. 
The  evidence  that  is  significant  for  diagnosis  and 
social  treatment  is  social  evidence, — or  the  suc- 
cession of  petty  acts,  trifling  remarks,  or  innumer- 
able decisions  which,  in  themselves  and  viewed  in- 
dependently appear  to  be  insignificant,  but  which 
have  important  cumulative  effect.  Thus  social 
evidence,  although  it  does  not  consist  of  conspicu- 
ous acts  is  nevertheless,  indicative  of  a  trend  of 
behavior.  It  is  made  up  as  Miss  Eichmond  says, 
of  *^all  the  facts  as  to  personal  or  family  history 
which,  taken  together,  indicate  the  nature  of  a 
given  client's  social  difficulties  and  the  means  to 
their  solution.'' ^7    j-^  ^^^q  facts  composing  these 

27  Richmond,  Mary  E. — Social  DiagnosiSf  1917,  p.  50. 


PROCEDURE  OF  CASE  WORK  75 

''stream  pictures*'  we  find  social  evidence  for 
diagnosis  and  treatment. 

In  considering  social  evidence  it  is  important  to 
distinguish  the  different  types  of  evidence  gath- 
ered. In  the  process  of  investigation  the  social 
case  worker  gathers  evidence  from  witnesses 
rather  than  from  trained  observers.  It  is  thus 
difficult  to  get  facts  which  are  ample  as  well  as 
pertinent.  When  a  thing  can  be  affirmed  with 
certainty  we  conclude  that  it  is  a  fact.  Things 
which  have  external  reality  are  not  more  facts 
than  the  existence  of  ideas  and  images  in  the  con- 
scious or  unconscious  mind.  Consequently  al- 
though a  fact  is  so  often  thought  of  as  a  tangible 
thing  its  definiteness  consists  not  only  in  its  ob- 
jectivity, but  also  in  its  certainty,  and  in  some 
cases  in  its  verifiability.  Evidence,  or  the  ulti- 
mate fact  or  facts,  offered  as  a  basis  for  infer- 
ences (reasoning  from  one  fact  to  another)  is 
naturally  of  different  kinds.  For  our  purposes, 
the  distinctions  between  real,  testimonial  and  cir- 
cumstantial evidence  are  sufficient.  Real  evi- 
dence consists  of  facts  had  by  first  hand  inspec- 
tion. The  visitor  finds  in  the  appearance  of  a 
client's  home  real  evidence  as  to  the  conditions 
under  which  he  lives^  B(ufc  the  report  of  these  ob- 
servations to  a  supervisor  becomes  to  the  latter, 
testimonial  evidence.  This  form  of  evidence  con- 
sists then  in  the  assertions  of  human  beings.  It 
may  be  further  analyzed  into  an  assertion,  not  of 
direct  observation  by  the  visitor,  but  of  what 


76     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

others  told  him — this  is  hearsay  evidence.  It  is 
the  weakest  form  of  testimonial  evidence  and 
should  be  used  with  caution.  Passing  on  now 
from  direct  assertions  by  human  beings,  which  if 
true  would  establish  the  point  at  issue,  we  come  to 
indirect  or  circumstantial  evidence,  a  catch-all 
which  includes  everything  that  is  not  the  direct  as- 
sertion of  a  human  being.  Circumstantial  evi- 
dence, although  usually  rated  as  of  lower  value  in 
independent  cases,  gains  cumulative  effect  by  add- 
ing item  to  item  and  has  the  advantage  of  not  de- 
pending for  its  weight  upon  the  elusive  personal 
trustworthiness  of  a  witness. 

The  value  of  a  witness's  testimony  depends 
upon  his  competence  and  his  bias.  The  witness's 
opportunity  to  know  the  facts  and  his  use  of  them 
is  influenced  by  his  attention  at  the  time,  his  mem- 
ory and  his  suggestibility.  At  the  time  he  may 
not  have  thought  the  incident  important  and 
hence  not  given  it  close  attention,  or  on  the  con- 
trary, the  incident  may  have  called  up  former  as- 
sociations and  hence  received  undue  weight.  The 
case  worker  must  consider  the  ^ ^funded  thought" 
of  the  individual,  the  sum  total  of  his  traditions 
and  mental  associations.  Evidence  about  mental 
abnormalities  is  not  likely  to  be  obtained  from 
uneducated  people  by  asking  them  questions  about 
** peculiarities."  Such  familiar  terms  as  lazi- 
ness, temper  and  crankiness,  will  have  more  mean- 
ing to  them.  Faulty  memory  of  an  event  may  be 
due  as  much  to  the  possession  of  but  a  scanty 


PROCEDURE  OF  CASE  WORK  77 

vocabulary  m  which  to  express  oneself,  as  to 
malobservation  and  errors  in  memory.  The  wit- 
ness may  be  suggestible,  that  is,  over-ready  to 
yield  assent  to  and  to  reproduce  the  assertions  of 
other  people.  Upon  these  considerations  the 
competence  of  the  witness  depends.  Leading 
questions  should  be  avoided  for,  as  Miss  Rich- 
mond says,  ^  ^  The  social  worker  must  be  on  guard 
against  getting  back  as  alleged  fact  some  mere 
conjecture  of  his  own  which  he  has  implicitly  ex- 
pressed by  his  wording,  or  by  the  inflection  of  his 
voice.  *  * 

Certain  kinds  of  bias  are  especially  to  be 
heeded  by  the  social  worker.  There  is  the  racial 
or  national  bias  of  the  witness.  Immigrants  of 
South  Italian  descent  have  come  from  primitive 
rural  communities  where  life  conditions  were 
simple,  where  parish  jealousies  were  strong,  and 
where  courts  were  generally  distrusted.  They 
are  nevertheless  a  proud  and  spirited  race  resent- 
ing any  assumption  of  superiority,  and  regarding 
with  repugnance  direct  questions  or  evidences  of 
brusqueness.  Yet  they  are  quite  approachable 
when  the  procedure  is  leisurely  and  indirect. 
Variations  in  education  and  environment  are  also 
responsible  for  bias.  There  is  also  the  bias  of 
self-esteem  and  of  collective  self-esteem  which 
appear  as  family  pride. 

Not  only  does  the  case  worker  run  a  risk  of 
using  incompetent  or  biased  testimony,  he  also 
encounters  sources  of  error  in  the  process  of  rea- 


78     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

soning  from  testimony.  Inferences  need  to  be 
corroborated  by  gathering  as  much  evidence  as 
possible.  Ingenuity  in  making  one  working 
hypothesis  and  then  another  and  patience  in  test- 
ing them  may  be  the  only  way  to  supplement  mea- 
ger evidence.  There  are  risks  that  arise  from 
the  process  of  thinking  and  from  the  state  of 
mind  of  the  thinker.  It  is  a  mistake  to  place 
much  reliance  on  ** general  rules/'  since  human 
conduct  is  too  complex  to  be  interpreted  by  rules 
of  universal  application.  Particular  cases  as- 
sumed to  come  under  the  general  rule  often  can 
not  be  so  disposed  of.  There  are  dangers  in  an- 
alogical reasoning  which  the  social  worker  should 
guard  against  in  making  inferences.  The  resem- 
blance between  two  cases  may  be  quite  super- 
ficial at  the  points  under  consideration — the  cru- 
cial ones — ^while  in  other  respects  the  likeness  is 
so  marked  that  it  is  misleading. 

Mistakes  are  often  made  in  inferring  about 
causal  relations.  It  is  common  to  confuse  asso- 
ciation with  causation,  and  it  is  a  native  tendency 
of  the  human  mind  to  seek  one  cause,  and  having 
found  one  apparently  satisfactory  explanation,  to 
fail  to  go  beyond  it.  In  human  conduct,  where 
motives  are  involved,  we  never  find  one  single  sim- 
ple cause,  but  must  train  ourselves  to  expect  a 
complex  and  multiple  cause.  Not  only  should  the 
mistakes  in  the  process  of  thinking,  just  recounted 
be  guarded  against,  but  the  social  worker  should 
avoid  the  dangers  to  valid  inferences  which  arise 


^ 


PROCEDURE  OF  CASE  WORK  79 

from  his  own  predispositions,  from  the  special 
assumptions  of  his  particular  branch  of  work,  and 
should  take  pains  to  collect  with  impartiality  the 
evidence  upon  which  he  bases  his  decisions. 

From  this  brief  sketch  of  the  logical  principles 
which  underly  the  procedure  of  case  work  we  may 
turn  to  a  description  of  the  field  work  of  investi- 
gation. Four  processes  are  involved:  (1)  the 
first  interview  with  a  client,  (2)  the  early  con- 
tacts with  his  immediate  family,  (3)  the  search 
for  further  insight  and  for  sources  of  needed  co- 
operation outside  his  immediate  family,  and  (4) 
the  careful  weighing  in  their  relation  to  one  an- 
other of  the  separate  items  of  evidence  thus  gath- 
ered and  their  interpretation.^^ 

THE   FIRST   INTEEVIEW 

Miss  Eichmond  summarizes  the  procedure  of 
the  first  step  as  follows: 

**The  first  interview  should  (a)  give  a  fair  and 
patient  hearing;  (b)  seek  to  establish  a  good  mu- 
tual understanding;  (c)  aim  to  secure  clues  to 
further  sources  of  insight  and  cooperation;  (d) 
develop  self-help  and  self-reliance  within  the  cli- 
ent's range  of  endeavor. 

**The  interview  must  not  be  hurried,  therefore; 
it  must  be  held  in  private,  and  with  every  consid- 
eration for  the  feelings  of  the  one  interviewed, 
though  always  with  a  definite  goal  in  view. 

**Many  questions  have  been  answered  before 

zsihid.,  p.  103. 


80     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

they  are  asked ;  these  need  not  be  asked  by  a  good 
listener,  Necessary  questions  should  be  so 
framed  as  to  make  truth-telling  easy.  Questions 
that  can  be  better  answered  by  some  one  else  are 
not  necessary  ones. 

*  *  The  clues  most  frequently  needed  from  the  in- 
itial interview  are  (a)  relatives,  (b)  doctors  and 
health  agencies,  (c)  schools,  (d)  employers,  past 
and  present,  (e)  previous  residences  and  neigh- 
borhoods. 

^*The  client's  own  hopes,  plans,  and  attitude  to- 
ward life  are  more  important  than  any  single  item 
of  information. 

**  Note-taking  during  the  interview  is  often  not 
wise,  though  this  depends  upon  the  nature  of  the 
request  and  upon  the  place  of  the  interview.  .  .  .^^ 

*^The  last  ^ve  or  ten  minutes  of  the  interview 
should  emphasize  the  interviewer's  desire  to  be 
helpful,  and  prepare  the  way  still  further  for  fu- 
ture intercourse. 

*  *  There  are  many  circumstances  that  may  mod- 
ify the  method  of  a  first  interview.  Among  these 
are: 

**  (a)  The  nature  of  the  task  about  to  be  under- 
taken, whether  probation  work,  family  work,  pro- 
tection from  cruelty,  etc. 

**(b)  The  origin  of  the  application  or  request 
for  service ;  whether  from  an  agency  or  individual 
already  interested,  or  from  an  applicant  on  his 
own  behalf. 

29  Ihid.,  pp.  132-3,  order  slightly  changed  in  quoting. 


PROCEDURE  OF  CASE  WORK  81 

*^  (c)  The  place  of  the  interview,  whether  in  the 
client  ^s  own  home  or  at  the  social  agency  ^s  office. 

**(d)  The  recorded  experience  available.  Any- 
possible  previous  record  in  the  agency's  files  con- 
cerning either  the  person  applying  or  others  of 
his  family.  (Search  should  be  made  for  such  a 
record  before  the  First  Interview  and  again  after 
its  close.)  Any  possible  previous  records  of 
other  social  organizations  that  show  relations  with 
the  person  applying.  (Where  there  is  a  confiden- 
tial exchange,  it  should  be  consulted  for  this  in- 
formation both  before  the  First  Interview  and 
after.)'' 

There  are  many  instances  in  which  failure  to  in- 
form himself  about  the  client's  family  history  is 
responsible  for  lack  of  full  success  in  treatment. 
Investigation  should  proceed  on  the  premise  that 
every  individual  is  a  member  of  a  family  group. 
The  family  has  a  history  of  its  own  quite  as  much 
as  the  individuals  who  compose  it.  A  conception 
of  *^the  main  drift"  of  the  family  life  is  very  im- 
portant and  comes  from  a  knowledge  of  the  family 
history.  That  very  real  family  asset  cohesion  or 
unity,  is  closely  related  to  such  intangible  things 
as  the  capacity  for  affection,  for  admiration,  for 
energetic  endeavor,  for  enjo^inent  and  for  social 
development  which  its  members  possess. 

SOUECES   OUTSIDE   THE   FAMILY 

When  the  case  worker  has  secured  satisfactory 
information  as  a  result  of  the  first  interview  and 


82     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

from  other  early  contacts  with  the  family,  it  be- 
comes necessary  to  *^  break  through  the  narrow 
circle  of  the  client's  own  view  of  his  situation'' 
and  investigate  sources  of  information  outside  the 
family.  Miss  Kichmond  found  that  56  social 
agencies  of  19  different  types  located  in  three 
cities,  consulted  outside  sources  10,871  times, 
counting  in  any  one  case  only  the  first  consultation 
with  the  source  used.  These  consultations  grew 
out  of  the  investigation  of  2,800  cases.  The 
groups  of  outside  sources  frequently  used  by  in- 
vestigators of  these  agencies  were,  other  social 
agencies,  churches,  doctors  and  health  agencies, 
former  and  present  neighbors,  relatives,  former 
and  present  employers,  schools,  friends,  and  pub- 
lic records.  The  order  in  which  these  sources 
were  consulted  differed  in  different  cases ;  in  one 
case  the  order  relatives,  physicians,  police,  hos- 
pitals, former  employers,  and  so  on  was  followed ; 
in  another  case  the  order,  relatives,  teachers, 
present  neighbors,  present  landlords,  former  land- 
lords, friends,  former  employers  and  so  on 
throughout  the  list  of  20  outside  sources  was  fol- 
lowed; and  finally,  in  the  third  city  the  order, 
present  neighbors,  friends,  physicians,  relatives, 
present  landlords,  former  employers,  and  so  on 
was  followed. 

A  study  of  the  order  in  which  outside  sources 
were  consulted,  led  to  the  formulation  of  certain 
principles  which  may  govern  choice  in  deciding 


PROCEDURE  OP  CASE  WORK  83 

the  order  of  approach.  Miss  Eichmond^^  has 
stated  these  principles  thus : 

**  (1)  Strike  out  boldly  for  history. 

**(2)  Seek  first  those  sources  that  are  likely  to 
be  rich  in  history  only  and  seek  later  those  most 
likely  to  be  rich  also  in  cooperation. 

**  (3)  Seek  out  witnesses  who  have  been  able  to 
make  first-hand  observations  in  preference  to 
those  whose  information  is  second-hand. 

*^  (4)  Recognize  the  special  value  of  supplemen- 
tary clues — of  clues,  that  is,  to  sources  of  infor- 
mation not  revealed  in  the  first  interview  or  in 
subsequent  ones  with  the  family  group,  but  which 
come  to  light  in  the  course  of  inquiry. 

**(5)  Think  of  sources  in  groups,  and  tap  each 
group  for  a  new  set  of  experiences. '' 

Relatives  are  listed  among  the  first  sources  to 
be  visited  in  investigating  sources  of  insight  out- 
side of  the  family  group.  Relatives,  including  all 
persons  related  to  the  client  whether  by  birth, 
marriage  or  descent,  have  certain  failings  as  wit- 
nesses which  the  social  worker  should  not  fail  to 
remember.  Their  evidence  is  often  prejudiced, 
they  frequently  assume  that  they  know  more  than 
they  really  do,  and  they  usually  lack  understand- 
ing of  a  social  situation  and  of  social  values.  On 
the  other  hand  they  are  in  a  position  to  contribute 
valuable  evidence  as  to  individual  and  family  his- 
tory, they  often  have  unusual  insight  into  the  sit- 
so  Ihid.,  p.  179. 


84     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

uation,  and  may  be  relied  upon  for  support  and  co- 
operation. It  should  also  be  remembered  that 
whenever  they  have  tried  to  do  their  duty  towards 
the  client,  they  have  a  moral  right  to  be  consulted 
in  any  plans  that  are  being  made  for  his  welfare. 

Medical  sources  are  often  in  a  position  to  sup- 
ply very  valuable  evidence  because  unprejudiced 
and  scientific  in  their  attitude.  Miss  Kichmond 
summarizes  the  procedure  of  the  social  worker  in 
gathering  data  about  his  client  from  doctors,  hos- 
pitals and  medical  sources  as  follows : 

**(!)  Ask  for  prognosis  as  well  as  diagnosis, 
for  the  probable  duration  and  outcome  of  the  dis- 
ease, and  for  ways  of  helping  to  hasten  recovery 
and  avoid  recurrence. 

*^(2)  Economize  medical  resources,  by  select- 
ing the  best  sources  and  using  them  to  the  full. 

**(3)  Seek  first-hand  information,  and  not  de- 
pend upon  hearsay  statements  of  *what  the  doc- 
tor said.' 

**(4)  Note  the  date  of  a  medical  diagnosis  be- 
fore making  it  the  basis  of  action. 

**(5)  Beware  the  medical  opinions  of  the  non- 
medical. 

**(6)  Seek  the  mediation  of  a  physician  in  se- 
curing important  medical  information  not  other- 
wise procurable. 

**  (7)  Eeport  with  special  care  the  social  side  of 
medical  cases.'' 

Evidence  from  teachers  and  school  sources  is 
incomplete  because  of  the  present  organization  of 


PROCEDURE  OF  CASE  WORK  85 

the  educational  system  which  fails  to  individualize 
pupils.  Testimony  of  employers  and  other  work 
sources  has  certain  failings  because  of  its  limited 
nature.  Whatever  bias  there  is  in  evidence  from 
this  source  is  lessened  by  consulting  former  em- 
ployers rather  than  present  employers.  This  last 
observation  applies  to  evidence  from  neighbor- 
hood sources  also.  In  general,  former  neighbors 
and  former  landlords  are  more  reliable  witnesses 
than  present  neighbors  and  present  landlords,  for 
as  Miss  Richmond  says,  **  Neighborhood  evidence 
is  often  the  synonym  for  gossip  and  inaccuracy.'' 

Besides  the  testimony  of  witnesses,  relatives, 
doctors,  teachers,  employers,  neighbors  or  land- 
lords, the  social  worker  in  his  investigation  of  the 
client  must  often  consult  documentary  sources. 
In  chapter  ii  we  have  outlined  in  some  detail  the 
principles  which  should  govern  the  critical  use  of 
documentary  sources,  but  it  is  necessary  to  sup- 
plement at  this  point  by  describing  the  chief  docu- 
mentary sources  consulted  by  the  field  worker  in 
investigating  a  client.    Miss  Richmond  says  ^^ : 

**  Social  workers  consult  documents  most  fre- 
quently for  facts  about  birth,  death,  marriage, 
divorce,  whereabouts,  property,  immigration,  and 
conduct. 

**Many  documents  are  utilized  in  establishing 
dates  of  birth,  such  as  certificates  of  birth,  bap- 
tismal certificates,  immigration  records,  naturali- 
zation papers,  insurance  policies,  Bible  and  other 

31  Jhid.,  p.  272. 


86    FIELD  WOKK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

religious  records,  court  records,  hospital  records, 
children's  institution  records,  and  the  records  of 
other  social  agencies.  Not  all  of  these  are  of 
equal  value.  The  record  made  at  or  near  the  time 
of  birth  is  the  most  trustworthy. 

'*The  chief  sources  for  proof  and  for  date  of 
death  are  the  records  of  the  board  of  health  and 
hospitals. 

*  *  The  sources  of  proof  and  for  date  of  marriage 
are  the  records  of  marriage  licenses  and  mar- 
riages (civil)  and  of  marriage  ceremonies 
(church).  There  are  often  minor  differences  of 
date,  such  as  differences  between  the  date  of  issu- 
ing the  license,  the  date  of  the  ceremony,  and  the 
date  of  reporting  the  ceremony. 

**  Records  of  birth,  death,  marriage,  property, 
etc.,  often  reveal  the  whereabouts  not  only  of 
members  of  the  immediate  family  but  of  friends 
and  connections.  Other  sources  for  whereabouts 
are  directories,  voting  lists,  enlistment  records, 
police  precinct  books,  receipts  of  foreign  drafts, 
and  cemetery  records. 

*  ^  The  most  useful  and  accessible  source  of  all  is 
the  directories,  both  special  and  general,  for  cur- 
rent and  earlier  years.  Boards  of  trade,  certain 
large  manufacturers,  the  publishers  of  directories, 
and  a  few  large  libraries  have  files  of  the  direc- 
tories of  other  cities.  Every  case  worker  should 
learn  to  consult  directories  promptly  and  skil- 
fully. 


PROCEDURE  OF  CASE  WORK  87 

*' Property  data  appear  in  records  of  real  es- 
tate, inheritance,  insurance,  bank  deposits,  pen- 
sions, and  cemetery  lots.*' 

The  foregoing  description  of  the  investigative 
procedure  of  general  social  case  work  is  all  too 
brief,  but  it  will  serve  to  provide  the  student  with 
a  knowledge  of  the  high  points  at  least  in  this 
special  technique  of  field  work.  A  more  compre- 
hensive and  complete  treatment  of  case  work  will 
be  found  in  the  references  listed  at  the  end  of  the 
chapter. 

RECOED  WRITING 

In  our  treatment  of  the  technique  of  case  work 
investigations  we  have  thus  far  touched  only  upon 
the  procedure  to  be  used  in  approaching  a  client, 
in  discovering  and  utilizing  sources  of  informa- 
tion and  have  not  described  the  methods  of  re- 
cording these  observations  and  this  information. 
If  the  records  of  observations  made  by  the  social 
case  worker  are  to  be  scientific,  they  must  be  im- 
partial and  impersonal.  Wherever  precise  terms 
of  medical  diagnosis  obtained  from  the  physician 
or  psychiatrist  can  be  secured,  they  should  be 
used  instead  of  the  general  terms  of  the  popular 
vocabulary.  In  this  way  objectivity  may  be  writ- 
ten into  some  statements  on  the  case  record. 
Qualitative  terms  of  **good,^^  **fair''  and  '*bad*' 
degrees  of  a  characteristic,  should  be  discarded 
wherever  more  precise  psychological  terms  or 


88     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

quantitative  terms  can  be  used  to  describe  the 
trait  or  condition.  Miss  Ealph  ^^  has  summarized 
the  practical  principles  of  record  writing  for  case 
workers  engaged  in  child-helping  work  as  follows : 

*^1.  The  observations  of  an  investigator  and 
the  statements  of  persons  interviewed  should  be 
recorded  as  soon  as  possible  after  the  visit  or 
interview. 

**2.  Care  should  be  taken  to  have  the  proper 
names  in  the  records  correctly  spelled. 

**3.  All  records  should  be  carefully  dated,  and 
if  a  record  is  continuous,  each  new  entry  should 
be  dated. 

**4.  In  recording  an  interview,  always  give  the 
date,  the  full  name  and  address  of  the  person  in- 
terviewed, his  relationship  or  connection  with  the 
child  or  family,  important  details  of  the  interview, 
and  the  name  of  the  visitor. 

**5.  The  use  of  terms  which  express  judgments, 
such  as  *good,'  *bad,'  *  doing  well,'  etc.,  and  of  in- 
definite terms  such  as  *  incorrigible, '  immoral,' 
*  laborer,'  etc.,  should  be  avoided. 

**6.  If  information  has  not  been  secured  on  any 
point,  state  why  the  facts  are  not  given. 

**7.  Under  points  relating  to  relatives,  refer- 
ences, membership  in  organizations,  and  so  on,  the 
full  name  and  address  of  the  person  or  organiza- 
tion should  be  given. 

**8.  Points  requiring  special  or  expert  knowl- 

32Kalph,  Georgia  G. — Elements  of  Record  Keeping  for  Child- 
Helping  Orgariizations,  1915,  pp.  112-124. 


PROCEDURE  OF  CASE  WORK  89 

edge  to  determine  should  be  answered  in  a  way 
that  will  leave  no  doubt  as  to  the  source  of  the 
information. 

**9.  A  detailed  account  of  investigations  should 
be  written  up  in  addition  to  answering  the  ques- 
tions covered  by  the  record  form. 

**10.  Eecords  of  all  children  in  care  should  be 
reviewed  periodically  and  a  summary  of  impor- 
tant developments  in  each  case  should  be  made. 

**11.  Eecords  should  be  kept  up  to  date.*' 

EXAMPLES  OF   MEDICAL-SOCIAL   CASE  INVESTIGATION 

Before  concluding  our  account  of  case  work  in- 
vestigation as  a  special  technique  of  field  work  it 
will  be  worth  while  to  consider  briefly  two  exam- 
ples of  special  forms  of  investigating  individuals 
in  their  social  relations — clinical  criminology  and 
the  field  work  of  epidemiology. 

The  diagnosis  of  conduct  and  behavior  disor- 
ders is  difficult  to  make.  Yet  Dr.  William  Healy 
has  made  an  important  contribution  to  the  tech- 
nique of  clinical  criminology,  and,  incidentally,  to 
case  work  investigation  technique  in  his  thorough 
and  painstaking  studies  of  juvenile  delinquent 
careers.  The  desirable  facts  for  diagnosis  are 
classified  by  Healy  under  eight  headings.^-'^ 

(1)  Family  history.  This  heading  includes 
those  facts  that  have  to  do  with  race,  marital  con- 
ditions and  the  work  history  of  the  offender  ^s  pa- 
rents ;  the  number  of  births  in  the  family,  an  ac- 

83  Healy,  William. — The  Individual  Delinquent,  pp.  53-65. 


90    FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

count  of  miscarriages  and  causes  of  any  deaths  in 
infancy;  the  parents'  habits  in  the  use  of  drugs 
alcohol  and  tobacco.  Besides  these  facts  infor- 
mation about  specific  diseases  or  defects  of  the 
father  and  mother,  with  particular  reference  to 
those  which  may  have  debilitated  the  germ  plasm 
or  affected  the  embryo,  and  not  omitting  heredi- 
tary diseases.  Besides  mental  and  physical  de- 
fects and  characteristics  of  brothers  and  sisters 
and  in  ancestral  side-lines,  the  facts  as  to  mental 
aberrations,  defects  and  peculiarities  on  the  part 
of  forebears  are  very  important.  Any  court  or 
institutional  record  in  the  family  should  be  ascer- 
tained and  made  note  of. 

(2)  Developmental  history.  Under  this  head- 
ing fall  the  facts  which  supply  a  full  account  of  the 
growth,  constitution  and  early  habits  of  the  of- 
fender during  infancy  and  childhood.  The  ques- 
tion of  possible  injury  through  an  accident  to  the 
mother  during  pregnancy  should  be  investigated, 
also  such  facts  as  would  show  what  the  antenatal 
conditions  of  health,  hygiene  and  occupation  of  the 
mother  were  during  pregnancy.  Nutritional  dis- 
turbances or  convulsions  in  infancy  should  be 
studied.  It  is  also  important  to  know  at  what  age 
the  offender  learned  to  creep,  walk,  run,  teeth 
talk,  and  go  to  school.  Evidence  of  adolescent  in- 
stabilities or  peculiarities  whether  mental  or  phys- 
ical deserves  careful  attention.  Among  other 
inquiries  to  be  made  are  questions  about  somnam- 
bulism and  night  terrors. 


PROCEDURE  OF  CASE  WORK  91 

(3)  Environment  is  a  heading  that  hardly  needs 
amplification.  It  covers  family  control  as  well  as 
the  more  obvious  factors  of  the  outside  world. 

(4)  Mental  and  moral  development.  This  in- 
cludes some  of  the  less  obvious  and  more  subtle 
factors  of  the  individual's  life.  School  history  in 
detail  is  important  to  study.  Such  matters  as  as- 
sociations with  the  opposite  sex,  general  behavior, 
the  development  of  special  talents  and  other  ob- 
servable mental  traits. 

(5)  Anthropometry.  Although  anthropological 
measurements  are  not  all  helpful,  such  facts  as  the 
time  of  appearance  of  menstruation  and  of  hair 
on  the  face  and  on  the  pubes;  the  degree  of  de- 
velopment of  the  breasts ;  time  and  peculiarity  of 
growth  of  the  various  teeth;  and  the  study  of 
growth  curves  of  height  and  weight;  are  all  im- 
portant in  their  bearing  on  glandular  functions 
and  disturbances. 

(6)  Medical  examination  with  special  reference 
to  neurologic  and  psychiatric  aspects  of  the  phys- 
ical functioning  and  peculiarities  of  the  offender. 
In  this  connection  special  attention  is  paid  to  con- 
vulsions, epilepsy,  petit  mal,  sexual  habits  and 
diseases,  alcoholism,  excessive  use  of  tobacco, 
drug  habits  and  sleep.  The  mental  factors  of  at- 
tention, memory,  judgment,  physical  and  mental 
control,  and  association  processes.  Under  this 
heading  also  comes  the  examination  of  cranial 
nerves,  of  sensory  and  motor  reactions,  and  of 
reflexes. 


92    FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

(7)  Psychological  examination  including  mental 
testing  and  psycho-analysis  constitutes  the  sev- 
enth main  inquiry.  Tests  of  intelligence  age  and 
tests  of  performance  should  be  given.  More 
searching  examination  is  given  to  reveal  hidden 
mental  worries  and  conflicts,  recurrent  imageries 
and  mental  attitudes,  half -forgotten  mental  ex- 
periences, many  of  which  underlie  misconduct. 

(8)  The  delinquent  career  constitutes  the  eighth 
heading.  Here  is  described  the  anti-social  act, 
the  cause  of  the  delinquency  as  given  by  relatives 
and  friends,  and  the  attitude  of  the  offender  to- 
ward the  court,  probation  officer  and  the  institu- 
tion. 

Obviously  this  intensive  study  of  the  individual 
can  only  be  carried  through  by  a  physician  with 
psychiatric  training,  or  hj  a  psychiatrist,  and  the 
average  social  worker  or  investigator  is  wholly 
unprepared  to  conduct  such  a  study.  Yet  a  de- 
scription of  some  of  the  main  points  in  this  tech- 
nique of  case  study  is  useful  because  it  serves  to 
emphasize  the  intensive  character  of  investiga- 
tions of  individuals. 

The  second  example  of  case  study  (aside  from 
social  case  work  investigation)  is  also  taken  from 
the  medical  field.  Modern  sanitarians  have  de- 
veloped a  procedure  for  investigating  the  sources 
of  an  epidemic  by  field  work  study.  The  routes 
of  infection  may  be  classified  into  two  groups: 
public,  including  water,  milk,  flies,  and  food ;  and 
private,  including  contact  with  discharges  of  in- 


PROCEDURE  OF  CASE  WORK  93 

fected  individuals  from  the  nose,  throat,  bladder 
and  bowel.  The  old  era  of  ** general  sanitation'* 
by  blanket  measures  is  passed  and  today  the  epi- 
demiologist gathers  sociological  data  and  goes 
directly  to  the  guilty  source  of  the  epidemic  by 
using  a  special  technique  of  field  work.  Case 
work  investigation  in  the  study  of  the  sources  of 
an  epidemic  involves  visits  to  persons  already  ill 
with  the  disease.  The  procedure  of  this  bedside 
inquiry  is  as  follows : 

(1)  The     epidemiologist     obtains    the     names     and 

addresses  of  patients  from  the  local  health  offi- 
cer, attending  physicians,  or  from  lay  citizens; 
he  then 

(2)  makes  bedside  visits  to  all  or  a  majority  of  patients 

and  having  decided  that  the  patient  has  typhoid, 
asks  these  questions: 

(a)  ''When  did  you  show  the  earliest  symptoms  of 

the  disease?  Why?"  When  this  date  is 
fixed,  the  date  at  which  the  infection  entered 
the  patient's  mouth  is  fixed,  i.  e.,  a  date 
usually  between  one  and  three  weeks  previous 
to  the  date  of  earliest  symptoms.  The 
investigator  at  this  stage  of  his  inquiry  does 
not  know  which  of  the  usual  factors,  water, 
milk,  food,  flies,  or  fingers  is  involved,  and 
still  less  which  particular  water,  milk,  food 
route  is  the  guilty  one.  But  the  answer  to 
this  question  reduces  the  possible  routes  to 
those  used  by  this  patient — not  at  any  time 
— but  during  a  specific  period,  i.  e.,  from  one 
to  three  weeks  preceding  the  date  of  his 
earliest  symptoms. 

(b)  The  second  question  is,  ''Where  were  you  dur- 

ing that  period  ?  Why  ? ' '  Because  if  the  pa- 
tient was  not  in  the  community  during  that 
period,  her  could  not  have  contracted  his  inf  iv^ 


94    FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

tion  within  it,  and  does  not  belong  to  the  out- 
break under  examination  at  all  but  to  some 
other.     He  is  an  'imported"  case  and  is  of 
no  assistance  in  locating  the  source  of  the 
main  outbreak — ^unless  perchance  he  be  him- 
self that  source,  the  introducer  to  the  com- 
munity of  the  original  infection.     If  he  be  an 
imported  case  he  is  noted  for  further  refer- 
ence, but  the  investigator  goes  on  to  another, 
(o)  ^^Were  you  associated  during  your  period  of 
infection  with  any  then  known  typhoid  cases  ? 
Why?"    Because  such  association,  especially 
if  intimate,  makes  it  more  than  probable  that 
the  case  under  examination  received  his  infec- 
tion from  the  preceding  case,  rather  than 
from  any  general  route  and  that  he  is  there- 
fore a  ''secondary"  case.     If  he  had  such 
associations,  this  is  noted  for  further  refer- 
ence and  the  investigator  passes,  on  to  another 
bed-side.     If  not,  the  questions  continue  and 
now  at  last  take  up  milk,  water,  food,  etc., 
but  of  course  only  so  far  as  to  determine 
those  used  by  the  patient  during  his  infec- 
tion period. 
(3)  The   investigator   then   passes    on   to    the   next 
patient.     Thus  far  he  has  not  learned  much, 
but  he  has  narrowed  the  possible  routes  of  infec- 
tion to   certain   water  supplies,   certain   milk 
supplies,  certain  food  supplies,  etc.,  i.  e.,  those 
used  by  the  first  patient  during  a  certain  period. 
At  the  bedside  of  the  second  patient,  the  same 
inquiries  in  the.  same  order  are  made.     If  this 
case  be  a  primary  case  (not  imported)  the  ori- 
gins of  his  drinking  water,  milk,  food,  etc.,  dur- 
ing his  infection  period  are  also  ascertained. 
It    is    more    than    likely    that    dissimilarities 
between  the  two  case  histories  have  developed 
upon  investigation.     Now  since  the  responsible 
water  supply,  milk  supply,  etc.,  must  be  one  of 
those  water  supplies,  milk  supplies,  etc.,  used 


PROCEDURE  OF  CASE  WORK  95 

in  common  by  primary  cases  all  those  not  com- 
mon to  both  these  primary  cases  may  be  dropped 
from  consideration.  If  their  water  supplies  are 
different,  water  is  eliminated;  if  milk  supplies 
differ,  milk  is  eliminated ;  and  so  on  through  all 
the  common  routes. 

The  investigator  having  determined  the  guilty 
route,  goes  directly  to  this  route  and  quickly 
confirms  the  indications  of  his  results. 
(4)  The  investigator  makes  observations  of  certain 
environmental  factors  in  addition  to  the  careful 
case  analysis  just  described. 

(a)  If   it   is   summer  he  notes  the  presence   and 

absence  of  open  toilets  in  the  back  yards,  of 
manure  piles  and  of  garbage  cans — all  of 
which  data  bear  upon  fly  infection.  If  it  is 
winter  time,  or  if  the  community  is  well  pro- 
vided with  sewers,  he  does  not  even  consider 
flies. 

(b)  If  the  cases  are  grouped  in  one  quarter  of  the 

town,  while  the  water  supply  extends  all  over 
it,  he  tentatively  eliminates  the  water  supply, 
before  he  asks  a  question.  If  good  surface 
drainage  and  sandy  soil  exist,  or  driven  wells 
are  chiefly  in  vogue,  he  tentatively  eliminates 
well  water.^* 

The  field  work  technique  of  case  investigation  is 
one  of  the  most  highly  developed  techniques  of 
field  work  in  social  science.  The  foregoing  ac- 
count has  shown  how  the  individual  is  the  unit  of 
such  study  and  the  student  has  obtained  an  appre- 
ciation of  the  intensive  character  of  this  type  of 
field  work  investigation.    Before  passing  on  to  a 

«*  Dr.  H.  W.  Hill,  in  an  article,  "The  Detailed  Procedures  to  be 
Followed  in  an  Epidemiological  Determination  of  the  Origin  of  a 
Typhoid  Outbreak,"  pp.  234-237,  Fourth  Biennial  Report,  State 
Board  of  Health  of  Mifmesota,  1911-12 — printed  in  1914. 


96     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

description  of  the  special  field  work  techniques  of 
sampling  and  complete  enumeration  in  the  two  fol- 
lowing chapters,  let  us  summarize  the  chief  ele- 
ments in  the  investigative  procedure  of  case  work 
study. 

(1)  Field  work  begins  with  the  first  interview,  which 

aims  to 

(a)  establish  a  good  mutual  understanding,  and 

(b)  to  secure  clues  to  further  sources  of  insight 

outside  the  family  circle, 

(c)  such  clues  as  relatives,  doctors  and  health  agen- 

cies, schools,  employers  and  previous  resi- 
dences and  neighborhoods, 

(2)  Sources  of  information  outside  the  family  group 

are  next  investigated. 

(a)  The  order  in  which  these  sources  should  be 

approached  is  governed  by  principles  that 
sources  rich  in  history,  those  likely  to  supply 
information  based  on  first-hand  observations, 
those  likely  to  furnish  supplementary  clues, 
and  those  forming  groups  of  sources,  should 
in  general,  be  first  consulted  in  the  order 
given. 

(b)  Twenty  sources  most  used  by  agencies  in  three 

cities  and  doing  social  case  work  were ; 

1 — Relatives 

2— Police 

3 — Physicians 

4 — Teachers 

5 — Former  employers 

6 — Clergymen 

7— Friends 

8 — Birth  records 

9 — Present  neighbors 
10— Courts 

11 — Hospitals  and  sanatoria 
12 — Marriage  records 
13 — Former  neighbors 


PROCEDURE  OP  CASE  WORK  97 

14 — Former  landlords 

15 — Present  employers 

16 — Health  departments 

17 — Lawyers 

18 — Present  landlords 

19 — Nurses 

20 — Medical — social  service  departments. 

SELECTED  REFERENCES 

Cabot,  R. — Differential  Diagnosis,  1915. 

Healy,  William — The  Individual  Delinquent,  1915. 

Manual  of  Home  Service,  American  Red  Cross. 

Ralph,  Georgia  G. — Record  Keeping  for  Child-Help- 
ing Organizations,  1915. 

Richmond,  Mary  E. — Social  Diagnosis,  1917. 

Slingerland,  W.  H. — Child-Placing  in  Families,  1919. 

Southard,  E.  E. — Shell  Shock  and  Neuropsychiatry, 
1919. 


CHAPTER  V 

SAMPLES    THAT    AKE    KEPRESENTATIVE — THE    PAETIAL 

CANVASS — INVESTIGATIVE    PROCEDUEE    OP    THE 

SOCIAL   SUEVEY 

In  the  scientific  study  of  the  group  as  distin- 
guished from  the  individual,  two  techniques  of 
field  work  have  been  developed,  that  of  sampling, 
and  that  of  complete  enumeration.  It  is  not  al- 
ways necessary  in  an  investigation  of  a  given  so- 
cial problem  to  study  every  individual  in  the  pop- 
ulation concerned.  Such  an  exhaustive  analysis 
is  very  expensive  and  time  consuming.  Conse- 
quently wherever  it  is  possible  to  satisfy  the  con- 
ditions of  the  investigation  by  the  study  of  some 
part  less  than  the  whole  such  a  procedure  should 
be  followed.  Investigators  of  social  and  indus- 
trial conditions  have  developed  a  technique  of 
partial  canvass  which  has  been  used  in  a  great 
number  of  social  surveys  of  social  communities 
and  neighborhoods,  as  well  as  in  the  study  of  spe- 
cific social  problems.  The  scientific  basis  of  par- 
tial canvass  as  used  in  the  social  survey  is  found 
in  the  theory  and  practice  of  random  and  repre- 
sentative sampling.    Before  enteiing  into  an  ex- 


SAMPLES  THAT  ARE  REPRESENTATIVE  99 

position  of  the  theory  of  sampling  let  ns  consider 
some  examples  of  survey  methods. 

THE   SOCIAL   SURVEY 

The  Pittsburgh  Survey  stands  as  one  of  the 
most  scientific  in  method  and  thorough-going  for 
its  scope,  of  any  surveys  conducted  in  the  United 
States.  In  1907  a  quick  diagnosis  of  about 
twenty  phases  of  life  and  labor  in  the  steel  dis- 
trict was  made  on  the  basis  of  standards  worked 
out  elsewhere.  By  bringing  these  diagnoses  to- 
gether for  comparative  study,  something  of  the 
structural  relation  of  the  problems  was  set  forth. 
In  five  or  six  fields  intensive  investigations  were 
conducted  by  experienced  investigators.  An  il- 
lustration of  the  technique  followed  in  one  of 
these  studies  will  be  given  later  on  in  this  chapter. 
The  general  results  of  this  survey  and  the  conse- 
quences following  upon  the  publication  of  its  find- 
ings are  too  well  known  to  need  mention  here.^^ 

Before  the  field  work  of  survey  begins,  consid- 
erable organizing  of  helpful  and  interested  com- 
munity forces  and  agencies  must  be  concluded. 
The  surveys  conducted  by  the  Department  of  Sur- 
veys and  Exhibits  of  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation 
of  the  cities  of  Syracuse,  New  York,  and  Spring- 

85  "Women  and  the  Trades,"  by  Elizabeth  Beardsley  Butler ; 
"Work-Accidents  and  the  Law,"  by  Crystal  Eastman;  "The  Steel 
Workers,"  bv  John  A.  Fitch;  "Homestead:  The  Households  of  a 
Mill  Town,"  by  Margaret  F.  Byington ;  "The  Pittsburgh  District," 
Symposium  by  John  R,  Commons,  Kobert  A.  Woods,  Florence 
Kelley,  Charles  Mulford  Robinson  and  others;  "Pittsburgh:  The 
Gist  of  the  Survey,"  by  Paul  U.  Kellogg. 


100     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

field,  Illinois,  will  serve  as  examples  of  how  the 
ground  is  prepared  for  study. 

SURVEY  OF  SYRACUSE,  NEW  YORK 

In  1911  several  leading  citizens  of  Syracuse  be- 
came convinced  that  the  rapid  growth  of  the 
city  had  created  situations  and  conditions  which 
needed  study.  It  seemed  desirable  to  gather  suf- 
ficient data  on  those  points  which  appeared  to  call 
for  immediate  action,  and  to  supplement  this 
measure  by  a  general  survey  of  conditions  in  order 
to  determine  in  what  lines  more  intensive  investi- 
gations were  needed. 

Strong  local  backing  for  the  survey  was  ob- 
tained by  gaining  the  support  of  four  large  or- 
ganizations in  the  city  which  themselves  were  fed- 
erations of  other  organizations.  The  Ministerial 
Association  included  over  one  hundred  churches; 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce  represented  employers 
and  industrial  and  commercial  organizations ;  the 
Central  Trades  Assembly  represented  all  the 
labor  unions  of  the  city ;  and  the  Associated  Char- 
ities represented  many  of  the  relief  agencies; 
these  organizations  contributed  funds  and  sup- 
port to  the  enterprise  through  a  central  survey 
committee  of  twelve.  It  was  planned  to  make  a 
preliminary  stock-taking  in  five  weeks.  For  this 
purpose  an  experienced  investigator  from  the 
Eussell  Sage  Foundation  was  employed.  Docu- 
mentary material  of  assistance  to  the  director 
such  as — city  and  county  reports  for  a  number  of 


SAMPLES  THAT  ARE  REPRESENTATIVE      101 

years  back ;  special  reports  published  by  the  cham- 
ber of  commerce,  the  board  of  education,  the 
academy  of  medicine  and  other  organizations; 
population  figures;  maps;  city  ordinances,  etc.; 
was  gathered  by  several  sub-committees.  On  his 
arrival  the  director  consulted  with  the  members  of 
the  central  committee  and  in  order  that  he  might 
**  become  saturated  with  the  main  facts  of  the  com- 
munity'^ he  held  numerous  interviews  with  city 
officials,  business  men,  labor  leaders,  clergymen, 
teachers,  social  workers,  physicians  and  others 
familiar  with  the  social  conditions  of  the  city. 

These  consultations  led  to  a  definition  of  the 
main  lines  which  the  inquiry  should  pursue :  ^^ 

(1)  Health  conservation  and  sanitation. 

(2)  Housing     conditions     among     unskilled 

workers. 

(3)  The  betterment  agencies  of  the  city. 

(4)  Foreign  population. 

(5)  Juvenile  delinquency. 

(6)  Civic  improvement. 

(7)  Labor  conditions. 

Since  it  was  obviously  impossible  for  the  di- 
rector to  investigate  all  of  these  complex  problems 
in  the  remaining  four  weeks  of  his  term  of  service, 
several  state  and  national  welfare  organizations 
were  requested  to  conduct  inquiries  in  these  fields. 

36  Harrison,   S.  R. — "A  Social  Survey  of  a  Typical  American 
City,"  The  Proceedings  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  Sd- 
vol.  II,  No.  4,  July,  1912,  pp.  18-31. 


102     Pir.f.D  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

It  was  felt  that  the  survey  would  gain  through 
their  cooperation  by  being  able  to  do  extensive 
work  on  a  more  comprehensive  scale,  and  that 
these  organizations  would  themselves  gain  by  the 
cooperation  and  backing  of  the  local  survey  or- 
ganization whenever  they  were  able  to  begin  their 
work.  The  following  organizations  promptly  re- 
sponded to  this  invitation :  The  New  York  Child 
Committee,  the  North  American  Civic  League  for 
Immigrants,  the  National  Housing  Association, 
the  National  Consumer's  League,  and  the  Na- 
tional Prison  Conunittee.  In  addition  to  this  out- 
side cooperation  some  twenty  local  people  gave 
their  services  voluntarily  as  their  personal  con- 
tribution to  the  survey;  a  young  physician  made 
a  study  of  the  city's  vital  statistics ;  a  young  rabbi 
prepared  the  statement  of  playground  equipment 
and  needs;  the  secretary  of  the  associated  chari- 
ties took  charge  of  the  housing  investigation;  an 
official  of  the  city  sewage  commission  prepared  a 
summary  of  the  sewerage  situation;  local  proba- 
tion officers  studied  juvenile  delinquency;  a  lawyer 
gathered  data  on  relief  work;  students  in  a  soci- 
ology class  at  the  university  aided  in  the  investi- 
gation of  child  labor  and  in  street  trades;  and 
others  made  maps  and  charts  and  assisted  in 
various  ways. 

Outlines  of  data  to  be  gathered  by  different  in- 
vestigators were  made  out  by  the  field  workers 
and  the  director  of  the  survey.  A  wide  enough 
range  of  facts  were  covered  in  these  work-pro- 


SAMPLES  THAT  ARE  REPRESENTATIVE  103 

grains  to  allow  the  different  investigators  some 
range  of  choice  in  deciding,  as  they  proceeded  in 
the  study,  what  matters  should  be  given  more  in- 
tensive inquiry.  The  work-program  on  health 
and  its  conservation  foUows.^^ 

I.  Vital  statistics. 

a.  General  death-rates  for  1907-08-09-10-11; 
and  average  death-rates  for  five-year  periods  run- 
ning back  twenty  years ;  infant  death-rates,  same 
period. 

b.  Distribution  of  death  by  wards,  for  1910. 

c.  Population  by  age  and  sex  in  each  ward,  in 
1910. 

d.  Deaths  from  more  prevalent  diseases  for  the 
last  ten  years,  especially  contagious  and  prevent- 
able diseases  such  as  typhoid,  tuberculosis,  diar- 
rhea, and  enteritis  (under  one  and  under  five 
years  of  age),  and  pneumonia. 

e.  Case  rates  of  the  disease  more  prevalent  lo- 
cally for  the  last  ten  years especially  conta- 
gious and  preventable  diseases,  such  as  diphtheria, 
typhoid,  measles,  scarlet  fever,  tuberculosis. 

f.  Births:  reporting  of;  still  births;  birth- 
rates compared  with  other  cities  of  similar  size 
and  population  make  up. 

II.  Health  administration. 

a.  Effect  of  administering  health  work  through 
a  subordinate  bureau  of  the  department  of  public 
safety,  instead  of  through  a  department  of  health ; 

S7  lUd.,  pp.  21-22. 


104     FIELD  WOKK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

adequacy  or  inadequacy  of  health  appropriations. 

b.  Educational  work  for  health;  and  special 
needs;  opportunities  for  increasing  educational 
work  as  shown  by  work  done  in  other  cities. 

c.  Organized  work  against  venereal  diseases; 
its  chief  needs ;  work  done  by  the  Syracuse  Society 
for  the  Prevention  of  Social  Diseases. 

d.  Quarantine  practice  in  less  serious  conta- 
gious diseases. 

e.  Medical  inspection  of  schools ;  how  adequate  ? 
In  all  schools?    How  financed? 

III.  Food  inspection. 

a.  Meat,  fruit,  fish. 

b.  Screening  from  flies. 

c.  Milk  supply ;  analysis  of  bacteriological  count 
from  January  1  to  July  1,  1911;  percentage  of 
producers  whose  milk  was  above  the  maximum 
bacterial  count;  method  of  enforcing  the  milk 
rule;  any  licenses  revoked;  analysis  of  cream 
count;  need  of  better  publicity  work  on  milk  and 
cream  scoring. 

IV.  Water  supply. 

a.  Source  of  general  supply;  water  sheds;  cost. 

b.  Surface  wells;  springs. 

V.  Sewerage  system. 

a.  Houses  connected;  open  privy  vaults  not  con- 
nected with  sewers. 

b.  Location  of  sewer  outlets. 


SAMPLES  THAT  ARE  REPRESENTATIVE   105 

VI.  Garbage  disposal. 

a.  Cost;  method. 

b.  Location  of  plants. 

c.  Method  of  collection  of  garbage. 

It  was  possible  to  complete  this  survey  of  Syra- 
cuse at  a  cost  of  $500  for  the  investigations,  and 
$600  for  the  publicity  work;  but  only  on  account 
of  the  careful  organization  before  field  work  be- 
gan of  the  numerous  helpful  and  interested  agen- 
cies and  forces  in  the  community. 

SURVEY   OF   SPRINGFIELD,   ILLINOIS 

Dissatisfaction  with  social  conditions  in  the  city 
of  Springfield,  Illinois,  led  to  a  conference  of  pub- 
lic spirited  citizens  in  1914.^^  There  was  consid- 
erable diversity  of  opinion  in  regard  to  what  the 
actual  conditions  were,  but  it  was  decided  to  give 
the  various  opinions  the  test  of  fact,  consequently 
a  survey  committee  of  twenty-five  representative 
persons  was  organized,  including  a  state  senator, 
a  former  lieutenant  governor,  a  state  commis- 
sioner, the  city  superintendent  of  schools,  other 
public  officials,  business  men,  labor  leaders, 
clergymen,  doctors,  women  ^s  club  leaders,  editors, 
teachers,  and  social  workers.  The  Department  of 
Surveys  and  Exhibits  of  the  Russell  Sage  Founda- 
tion was  asked  to  assume  chkrge  of  the  planning 
and  direction  of  the  survey.  Through  the  efforts 
of  this  department  the  assistance  and  services  of 

38  Harrison,  S.  M. — "Community  Action  Through  Surveys," 
pamphlet  of  Kussell  Sage  Foundation,  1916,  p.  12. 


106     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

six  other  departments  of  the  Foundation  were  se- 
cured, as  well  as  that  of  five  national  organiza- 
tions, five  state  organizations,  the  cooperation  of 
the  social  agencies  of  the  city,  and  the  assistance 
of  over  600  volunteer  workers  in  Springfield. 
The  ^ve  national  organizations  were;  The 
United  States  Public  Health  Service,  American 
Association  of  Societies  for  Organizing  Charity, 
National  Association  for  the  Study  and  Preven- 
tion of  Tuberculosis,  National  Committee  for 
Mental  Hygiene,  and  the  National  Housing  Asso- 
ciation. The  five  state  organizations  were: 
Illinois  State  Board  of  Health,  Illinois  State 
Water  Survey,  Illinois  Conference  of  Charities 
and  Corrections,  Illinois  State  Food  Commission, 
and  the  State  Department  of  Factory  Inspection. 
The  main  divisions  of  the  survey  were : 


I. 

The  Public  schools. 

11. 

Care  of  mental  defectives,  the  insane  and 

alcoholics. 

III. 

Eecreation. 

IV. 

Housing. 

V. 

Public  health. 

VI. 

The  correctional  system. 

VII. 

Charities. 

VIII. 

Industrial  conditions. 

IX. 

City  and  county  administration. 

Springfield  is  a  representative  American  city.^* 
It  is  a  center  for  manufacturing,  mining,  agricul- 
S9nid.,  pp.  1&-18. 


SAMPLES  THAT  ARE  REPRESENTATIVE   107 

tural  and  commercial  activities.  It  is  the  state 
capital.  It  is  located  about  midway  between  the 
northern  and  southern  states  and  near  the  center 
of  population  where  the  cross  currents  of  social 
and  economic  life  representing  the  different  re- 
gional interests  of  the  nation  are  all  felt.  It  is  a 
fairly  representative  of  a  large  group  of  medium- 
sized  cities  in  the  country.  For  all  these  reasons 
the  methods  used  in  organizing  and  launching  this 
survey  are  suggestive  of  procedure  that  may  be 
used  elsewhere. 

METHODS   OF   SOCIAL  SURVEYS 

The  general  methodology  of  the  social  survey 
consists  of  five  elements  according  to  Paul  U.  Kel- 
logg,*® the  director  of  the  Pittsburgh  Survey. 

**(1)  To  bring  a  group  of  experts  together  to 
cooperate  with  local  leaders  in  gauging  the  social 
needs  of  one  city. 

**(2)  To  study  these  needs  in  relation  to  each 
other,  to  the  whole  area  of  the  city,  and  to  the 
civic  responsibilities  of  democracy. 

**(3)  To  consider  at  the  same  time  both  civic 
and  industrial  conditions,  and  to  consider  them 
for  the  most  part  in  their  bearings  upon  the  wage- 
earning  population. 

**(4)  To  reduce  conditions  to  terms  of  house- 
hold experience  and  human  life. 

**(5)  To  devise  graphic  methods  for  making 

*o  "The  Spread  of  the  Survey  Idea,"  Proceedings  of  the  Academy 
of  Political  Science,  vol.  II,  No.  4,  July  1912,  pp.  1-17. 


108     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

these  findings  challenging,  clear  and  unmistak- 
able.'' 

Since  the  subject  of  special  interest  to  us  is 
field  work,  we  are  not  here  concerned  with  topics 
(4)  and  (5),  but  anything  that  is  suggestive  and 
throws  light  upon  preliminary  procedure  of  or- 
ganizing is  of  value  in  our  study.  Kellogg*"* 
shows  how  the  survey  method  may  be  regarded  as 
a  combined  product  of  the  contributions  of  the 
surveyor,  the  physician,  the  engineer,  the  case 
worker  and  the  journalist.  The  unit  of  work  for 
the  social  survey  is  taken  from  the  surveyor  since 
at  the  basis  of  the  investigation  lies  an  element  of 
locality,  or  neighborhood  or  city,  or  of  state  or 
region.  From  the  physician  the  social  investi- 
gator takes  the  art  of  applying  to  the  problems  at 
hand,  standards  and  experiences  worked  out  else- 
where. The  social  surveyor  should  know  at  the 
start  what  good  ventilation  is  and  what  cellar 
dwellings  are.  The  conception  of  the  structural 
relation  of  things  is  taken  from  the  engineer. 
Labor  conditions  are  not  to  be  separated  from 
housing,  nor  housing  from  sanitation.  From  the 
charity  organization  society  the  social  surveyor 
takes  the  case  work  method  of  bringing  prob- 
lems down  to  human  terms.  It  is  the  case  work 
method  of  intensive  study  and  the  accumulation 
of  ^ Spiled  up  actualities"  that  distinguishes  the 
true  survey  from  mere  social  prospecting.  The 
method  of  graphic  portrayal  is  taken  from  the 

*oa  lUd.,  pp.  3-6. 


SAMPLES  THAT  ARE  REPRESENTATIVE   109 

journalist  and  supplies  the  special  technique  of 
publicity. 

To  sum  up  the  methodology  of  the  social  survey 
as  far  as  the  field  work  phase  of  the  study  is  con- 
cerned. We  have  seen  from  our  account  of  the 
Syracuse  and  Springfield  surveys  how  important 
was  the  preliminary  organization.  The  usual 
procedure  is  to  get  together  a  central  committee 
representative  of  all  the  helpful  and  cooperative 
interests  in  the  local  community.  An  outside  ex- 
pert in  survey  work  is  then  employed  to  plan  and 
direct  the  investigation.  This  director  usually 
finds  it  helpful  to  secure  the  cooperation  of  several 
state  and  national  welfare  organizations  in  carry- 
ing out  the  undertaking.  A  quick  size-up  of  the 
local  situation  is  then  made  by  the  directing  ex- 
pert. This  preliminary  stock-taking  usually 
brings  to  the  surface  conditions  of  chronic  as  well 
as  acute  social  maladjustment  and  points  the  way 
to  further  intensive  study  in  special  fields. 

As  distinguished  from  this  rapid  survey  method 
in  which  the  entire  situation  is  scanned,  is  the  al- 
ternative line  of  action  in  which  some  unit  less  than 
the  whole,  such  for  example  as  a  certain  neighbor- 
hood, a  city  block  or  a  specific  problem  like  recrea- 
tion or  public  health,  is  studied.  Buffalo  took  a 
survey  of  its  Polish  district.  Workers  in  social 
settlements  have  frequently  surveyed  their  neigh- 
borhoods.^^    Block   studies  have  been  made  by 

*i  Woods,  R.  A.  et  al. — Amen'oans  in  the  Process,  North  and 
West  Ends,  Boston,  1002 ;  St.  John,  G.  B. — Community  Survey  of 
2l8t  Ward,  Chicago,  1913. 


110     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

Jones  and  Woolston  in  New  York  City.'*^  Sur- 
veys of  specific  local  problems  have  been  made  by 
numerous  cities."*^ 

Miss  Byington  and  Carol  Aronovici  have  drawn 
up  suggestive  lists  of  questions  for  which  answers 
should  be  found  in  the  investigation  of  special 
problems. 

Industrial  study  (Byington)  ** 

1.  Estimated  number  of  men,  women,  children  em- 
ployed. 

2.  Estimate  so  far  as  possible  the  proportion  of  skilled 
workers  in  each  occupation. 

(a)  In  factory  work,  are  the  establishments  large, 

with  extreme  subdivision  of  the  work ;  or  are 
they  so  small  that  each  worker  is  familiar 
with  the  whole  process  ? 

(b)  What  method  of  training  or  apprenticeship  is 

there?     How  long  a  period  does  it  cover? 

(c)  What  is  the  maximum  wage,  the  minimum,  in 

each  occupation?  What  proportion  of  the 
workers  reach  this  maximum  ? 

3.  Is  the  labor  casual  or  seasonal  ?  In  what  months  is 
the  work  steady?     In  which  dull? 

4.  Are  there  trade  unions ;  if  so,  what  benefits  do  they 
give  the  sick  or  unemployed?  Approximate  proportion 
of  employes  who  belong. 

5.  Are  there  other  pension  systems  connected  with  any 
establishments  in  the  industry? 

42  Jones,  T.  J.— "The  Sociology  of  a  New  York  City  Block,"  in 
Studies  in  History,  Economics  and-  Public  Laio  (Columbia  Univ.) 
vol.  21,  1904;  and  Woolston,  H.  B.— "A  Study  of  the  Population 
of  Manhattanville,"  vol.  35,  1909. 

43  Lindholm,  S.  G. — Recreation  Survey  of  Cincinnati,  Juvenile 
Protective  Association,  1913;  Report  of  Survey  of  Department  of 
Health    (Atlanta,  Ga.)   1912. 

44  Byington,  M.  F. — What  Social  Workers  Should  Know  Ahout 
Their  Own  Communities,  pamphlet,  Russell  Sage  Foundation, 
1912,  pp.  18-19. 


SAMPLES  THAT  ARE  REPRESENTATIVE   111 

6.  Are  conditions  of  work  sanitary  and  healthful? 
Are  there  special  dangers  such  as  unguarded  machinery, 
dust  or  dampness  ?  Do  workers,  especially  women,  have 
to  work  in  a  trying  posture? 

7.  How  many  state  factory  inspectors  are  there ;  what 
are  their  powers? 

8.  What  industries  employ  women? 

9.  For  the  main  industries,  classify  women  employed 
by  age  and  nationality.  What  proportion  do  employed 
women  form  of  total  number  of  women  of  corresponding 
age  in  the  population? 

10.  Consider  the  facts  in  question  2,  especially  for 
women. 

11.  Give  the  state  law  governing 

(a)  The  number  of  hours  a  week  women  may  be 

employed  in  factories;  in  stores. 

(b)  The  hours  that  women  may  work  at  night. 

(c)  Industries  in  which  women  may  be  employed. 

12.  What  industries  give  out  work  to  be  done  in  the 
home?  What  are  the  usual  weekly  earnings  in  each 
such  occupation;  under  what  conditions  is  the  work 
done? 

13.  What  proportion  of  women  wage-earners  board? 
What  does  a  working  girl  have  to  pay  for  board? 

Housing  study  (Aronovici)  *^ 

1.  Is  the  locality  a  community  of  homes  or  of  three  or 
four  more  family  houses  and  what  is  the  number  of  each 
type? 

2.  What  is  the  average  proportion  between  rental  and 
family  income?  (If  this  cannot  be  ascertained,  the 
rental  per  tenement  by  number  of  rooms  in  some  charac- 
teristic sections  should  be  considered.) 

3.  Are  the  families  crowded  in  small  tenements  and 
what  is  the  extent  of  crowding?  (Number  of  persons 
per  room,  crowding  in  bed  rooms,  etc.) 

4.  How  frequently  are  roomers  taken  in  to  piece  out 
rents  ? 

*5  Aronovici,  C.—The  Social  Survey,  1916,  pp.  81-83. 


112     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

5.  Is  the  water  supply  in  the  homes  of  good  quality 
and  sufficient  for  the  use  of  the  families? 

6.  Is  there  a  sewer  system  and  is  it  connected  with  the 
dwellings  in  all  parts  of  the  city?  If  not,  what  is  the 
number  of  dwellings  not  connected  and  the  number  of 
families  with  individuals  affected  ? 

7.  What  is  the  character  of  the  toilets ;  are  they  located 
in  apartments,  cellars,  halls,  basements  or  yards,  and 
are  they  connected  with  the  sewer?  (Secure  facts  con- 
cerning each.) 

8.  Are  toilets  used  by  one  or  more  families  each  and 
to  what  extent  is  overcrowding  in  toilet  use  prevalent? 

9.  What  types  of  toilet  ventilation  are  prevalent  ? 

10.  To  what  extent  are  bathrooms  provided  in  the 
poorer  sections  of  the  community? 

11.  Is  household  refuse  removed  by  the  city  and  what 
is  the  method  and  frequency  of  removal? 

12.  How  frequent  are  windowless  rooms  in  dwellings? 

13.  How  frequently  are  rooms  dark  because  of  prox- 
imity of  buildings,  lighting  through  airshafts  or  narrow 
courts  ? 

14.  Are  yards  provided  in  tenements,  and  what  are  the 
prevailing  sizes  ? 

EXAMPLES   OF   EEPRE  SENT  ATI  VB  SAMPLING 

The  foregoing  description  of  survey  methods 
has  emphasized  the  phases  of  preliminary  organ- 
ization and  scope  of  the  investigation  rather  than 
the  real  scientific  basis  of  survey  study  as  it  rests 
on  the  principles  of  sampling.  It  will  be  conve- 
nient to  lead  up  to  our  discussion  of  the  theory  of 
random  and  representative  sampling  by  examin- 
ing a  few  instances  of  systematic  effort  to  select 
a  representative  sample  from  the  field  of  a  cer- 
tain social  problem. 

The  Federal  Children's  Bureau  selects  repre- 


SAMPLES  THAT  ARE  REPRESENTATIVE     113 

sentative  cities  in  the  registration  area  for  the 
study  of  infant  mortality.  Johnstown,  Pa.,  Man- 
chester, N.  H.,  Brockton,  Mass.,  Saginaw,  Mich., 
New  Bedford,  Mass.,  Watertown,  Conn.,  and 
Akron,  Ohio,  were  chosen  because  they  repre- 
sented such  elements  as  economic,  industrial  and 
social  conditions  invariably  associated  with  in- 
fant mortality.  The  nationality  factor  in  popula- 
tion was  represented  by  the  existence  of  Slavic, 
French  Canadian,  Lithuanian,  German,  Portu- 
guese, and  Italian  elements.  Industrial  variety 
was  represented  by  iron,  steel,  cotton  textiles, 
shoe  and  brass  manufactures.  The  cities  were 
widely  distributed  over  the  registration  area  geo- 
graphically. 

In  Miss  Byington's  study  of  Homestead,  Pa.,  a 
sample  group  of  90  working-class  families  was 
investigated  to  determine  the  standard  of  liv- 
ing.'*^ Different  wage  groups  indicative  of  grades 
of  skill  were  represented  in  the  sample  in  about 
the  same  proportion  that  they  existed  in  the  whole 
working-class  population.  The  range  of  wage 
groups,  less  than  $12  a  week,  from  $12  to  $14.99 
per  week,  from  $15  to  $19.99  per  week,  and  those 
receiving  $20  and  over  each  week,  was  sufficient 
to  include  the  wage-earning  portion  of  the  popula- 
tion as  it  then  existed  (1907).  Kacial  elements  in 
the  town's  population  were  represented  in  the 
sample  by  including  within  the  group  studied,  the 
native  born,  the  old  time  English-speaking  immi- 

46  Byington,  M.  ¥.—0p.  cit.,  pp.  187-204. 


114     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

grant  of  a  generation  ago,  and  the  newcoming 
Slavs.  Inferences  drawn  from  the  sample  were 
conservative  as  regards  the  dark  side  of  the  living 
situation,  because  for  each  racial  group  the  per- 
centage of  unskilled  workers  among  the  budget 
families  was  smaller  than  in  the  mill  census,  thus 
making  the  sample  group  somewhat  above  the 
bare  average  in  skill  and  wages.  Eepresentation 
for  the  oft-neglected  factor,  intelligence  in  pur- 
chasing and  skill  in  family  management,  was  pro- 
vided for  by  arranging  to  keep  accounts  for  fami- 
lies unable  to  do  so  for  themselves  and  visiting 
them  daily  or  every  other  day  for  that  purpose. 
In  this  way  it  was  possible  to  get  a  sample  that 
was  fairly  representative  of  economic  status,  ra- 
cial make-up,  and  intelligent  management. 

Eandom  sampling  has  also  been  used  in  social 
investigations.  Bowley's  studies  of  livelihood 
and  poverty  in  the  English  towns  of  Northampton, 
Warrington,  Beading  and  Stanley  furnish  an  in- 
teresting example  of  this  method.^ ^  These  towns 
are  fairly  representative  of  English  towns  with  a 
population  ranging  from  15,000  to  150,000.  In 
Reading  and  Warrington  a  variety  of  industrial 
activity  is  represented,  while  in  Northampton 
and  in  Stanley  there  are  predominate  industries, 
respectively  boots  and  shoes,  and  coal  mining. 
Field  workers  were  directed  to  investigate  a  ran- 
dom sample  of  the  population  of  these  four  towns 

47  Bowley,  A.  L.,  and  Burnet-Hiirst,  A.  R. — Livelihood  and  Pov- 
erty, 1915,  pp.  12-14. 


SAMPLES  THAT  ARE  REPRESENTATIVE      115 

by  visiting  one  working-class  house  in  23  at  North- 
ampton, one  in  19  at  Warrington,  one  in  17  at 
Stanley,  and  one  in  21  at  Eeading. 

To  be  consistent  and  logical  the  more  scientific 
way  is  to  number  the  whole  lot  individual  by  indi- 
vidual consecutively,  and  after  writing  down  these 
numbers  on  cards,  shuffle  the  cards  and  draw  at 
random  some  of  the  cards  and  then  examine  the 
objects  with  corresponding  number.  In  applying 
this  method  to  social  problems  it  is  necessary  at 
the  outset  to  adopt  a  careful  and  exact  definition 
of  the  group  to  be  studied.  Just  what  is  meant  by 
** working-class  families"  or  ** wage-earning  fam- 
ilies"? To  cite  Bowley,^^  ^*If,  for  example,  we 
are  examining  the  physical  condition  of  school 
children,  w^e  should  delimitate  the  area  to  be  taken, 
enumerate  all  the  schools  in  it,  and  find  the  num- 
ber of  children  on  the  register  of  each ;  the  group 
taken  would  then  be  co-extensive  with  *  registered 
school  children.'  In  making  the  measurements 
we  should  have  to  take  the  children  absent  from 
school  as  well  as  present,  if  they  happen  to  be 
chosen  by  the  selective  process  used,  as  otherwise 
we  should  be  taking  the  smaller  group  *  children 
present  at  school';  this  might  give  an  imperfect 
result,  as  the  absent  children  might  contain  a  large 
proportion  of  the  physically  unfit.  In  any  case, 
the  group  described  would  not  contain  children  re- 
moved from  the  district  and  especially  treated  in 
institutions." 

*^  Elementary  Manual  of  Statistics,  1910,  pp.  57-58. 


116     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

**The  temptation  is  always  to  measure  the  ob- 
vious and  easily  accessible ;  but  if  we  do  this  our 
sample  is  *of  the  accessible/  not  of  the  whole 
group.  Thus  budgets  of  working-class  expendi- 
ture, which  are  published,  are  not  typical  of  the 
working-class  as  a  whole,  but  of  that  part  of  it 
which  is  intelligent  enough  to  have  some  kind  of  a 
record  and  is  willing  to  communicate  private  de- 
tails. .  .  /' 

In  the  1891  census  of  Norway,  instead  of  can- 
vassing the  entire  state,  a  certain  number  of  rep- 
resentative cities  and  country  districts  were 
chosen.^^  Further  reduction  of  labor  was  at- 
tained by  taking  within  these  districts  only  per- 
sons of  17,  22,  27,  etc.,  years  of  age  out  of  the 
general  population.  Moreover,  only  persons 
whose  names  began  with  a  certain  letter  of  the 
alphabet  were  selected  for  study.  In  this  way  a 
fair  sample  was  selected  for  investigation. 

THE   THEOBY   OF   INDUCTIVE  INFERENCE 

The  question  which  we  require  an  answer  to,  is 
this :  How  can  we  generalize  from  a  limited  set  of 
data  about  conditions  in  a  w^hole  population?  It 
has  been  established  by  logicians  ^^  and  mathema- 
ticians that  we  can  judge  the  characteristics  of  a 
whole  probably  and  approximately  by  an  exami- 
nation of  fair  samples  of  the  whole.  Fair  sam- 
ples are  chosen  at  random  when,  individual  draw- 
ls Cited  by  Bailev,  W.  B. — Modern  Social  Conditions,  1906,  p. 
17. 
sopeirce,  C.  S.—Op.  cit.,  pp.  126-187. 


SAMPLES  THAT  ARE  REPRESENTATIVE   117 

ings  are  independent,  and  whenever  any  particu- 
lar item  has  the  same  chance  as  any  other  item  of 
being  drawn.  The  method  of  random  sampling  is 
to  run  over  the  objects  to  be  sampled,  abstracting 
the  attention  from  their  peculiarities,  and  arrest- 
ing ourselves  from  motives  wholly  unconnected 
with  those  peculiarities.  The  mechanical  aids  to 
practical  procedure  are:  to  number  all  objects  in 
a  lot  and  draw  numbers  by  roulette,  or  draw  from 
a  bag ;  or  to  arrange  the  items  in  order  of  size,  al- 
phabetical order,  or  some  such  plan,  and  then  to 
draw  the  10th,  20th,  30th,  item  and  so  on. 

The  logical  basis  of  generalizing  from  samples 
of  a  whole  to  characteristics  of  the  whole  is  found 
in  the  inductive  syllogism — 

(1)  S',  S",  S'",  etc.,  form  a  numerous  set  taken  at 
random  from  among  the  M  's ; 

(2)  S',  S",  S'",  etc.,  are  found  to  be — the  proportion  r 
of  them, — P's; 

(3)  Hence,  probably  and  approximately  the  same  pro- 
portion r,  of  the  M's  are  P's. 

This  syllogistic  procedure  is  one  which  begins 
with  cases,  proceeds  to  noting  results,  and  con- 
cludes with  a  rule.  It  is  thus  an  inductive  syl- 
logism. 

Now  it  can  be  mathematically  demonstrated  that 
there  are  more  possible  samples  that  agree  with 
the  constitution  of  the  whole,  than  there  are  sam- 
ples that  disagree.^  ^  Picking  two  balls  at  random 
from  a  bag  containing  two  red  balls,  a,  b,  and  two 

61  Royce,  J.  et  al.,  Snoyclopedia  of  the  Philosophical  Sciences, 
Tol.  I,  pp.  78-92. 


118     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

white  balls,  c,  d,  what  is  the  most  likely  color  of 
the  pair  drawn?  The  possible  combinations  of 
the  two  balls  are  six  in  all:  a,  b;  a,  c;  a,  d;  b,  c; 

b,  d ;  and  c,  d ;  of  which  the  pair  a,  b,  are  red ;  and 

c,  d,  are  white.  Thus  out  of  six  pairs,  there  are 
but  two  pairs  of  the  same  color  to  four  pairs  of 
mixed  coloring,  that  is,  of  red  and  white.  In  other 
words,  the  chance  of  drawing  a  pair  of  different 
colors  is  twice  that  of  drawing  a  pair  of  the  same 
color.  Hence  the  chances  are  greater  that  the 
sample  will  agree  with  the  constitution  of  the 
whole  (which  was  half  red,  half  white  balls),  than 
that  it  will  not  agree.  Consequently  it  is  pos- 
sible to  generalize  from  a  sample  to  characteris- 
tics of  the  whole. 

THE  THEOBY  AND  PEACTICE   OF  EANDOM 
SAMPLING 

Let  US  now  consider  the  theory  and  practice  of 
selecting  random  samples.  Bowley  in  his  study 
of  livelihood  and  poverty  in  the  four  English 
towns  cited,  selects  fair  or  random  samples  of 
working-class  homes  from  the  whole  population 
of  each  town  as  follows:  For  each  town  a  list 
of  all  houses  (from  directories  for  Northampton 
and  Beading,  and  from  assessment  lists  else- 
where) was  obtained.  Every  20th  house  was 
checked  for  study  (without  reference  to  anything 
except  accidental  order — alphabetical  or  by 
streets).  The  buildings  so  marked,  other  than 
shops,  institutions,  factories,  etc.,  formed  the  sam- 


SAMPLES  THAT  ARE  REPRESENTATIVE      119 

pie.  The  field  workers  were  instructed  to  omit 
no  house,  however  difficult  it  might  be  to  get  the 
information  from  its  tenants. 

How  adequate  and  fair  is  this  sample  of  one  in 
twenty?  In  a  group  of  N  things,  p  X  N  have  some 
assigned  character,  and  n  out  of  N  things  are 
chosen  as  a  random  sample  and  examined.  Then 
it  is  more  likely  (as  just  demonstrated)  that  the 
exact  proportion  p  X  n  of.  the  cases  in  the  sample 
will  have  the  characteristic  question,  than  that  any 
other  proportion  of  the  cases  in  the  sample  will 
possess  this  character.  Moreover,  small  devia- 
tions from  this  proportion  are  more  probable  than 
large  deviations.'^^ 

Consider  an  example.  A  sample  800  houses 
out  of  16,000  houses  in  a  town  are  investigated. 
Ten  per  cent,  of  the  houses  in  the  town  are  known 
to  be  four-roomed.  Then  ten  per  cent,  of  the 
sample  800  houses,  or  80  houses,  is  the  most  prob- 
able number  of  four-roomed  houses  to  be  found  in 
the  sample  (as  a  matter  of  fact  such  exactness  will 
not  be  reached;  probably  in  practice  75  or  85 
houses  will  be  found  to  be  four-roomed). 

This  principle  may  be  stated  mathematically. 
It  has  been  proven  that  it  is  just  as  likely  as  not 
— the  odds  are  equal — that  the  number  found  in 
the  sample  will  differ  from  pn  by  as  much  as, 

2    

__y  p  (1— p)  n  the  probable  error. 

3 

82Bowley,  op.  cit.,  pp.   178-83. 


120     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

Conversely  (and  this  has  great  practical  sig- 
nificance for  us  in  the  solution  of  our  problem), 
it  can  be  shown  that  (unless  p  is  very  small),  if 
p'*^  examples  are  found  in  n  trials,  it  is  as  likely 
as  not  that  the  proportion  in  the  whole  group  will 
differ  from  p'  by  as  much  as, 

2 

3  n        " 

which  is  the  probable  error  of  the  sample. 

**When  the  probable  error  is  established,  the 
tables  of  probability  show  that  the  fact  will  differ 
from  the  forecast  by  three  times  this  error  only 
once  in  25  experiments  in  the  long  run,  and  by 
four  or  five  times  this  error  so  seldom  that  the 
chance  of  so  great  a  deviation  is  negligible. ' ' 

Bowley  uses  this  formula  to  construct  a  table 
showing  the  probable  error  in  the  case  of  800 
houses  and  thus  gets  a  guide  to  the  Northampton, 
Eeading  and  Warrington  investigations. 

Per  cent,  found  in  sample.  Probable  error 

n  =  800        n  =  200 

5  per  cent.  .5  1 

10  .7  1.4 

15  .84  1.7 

20  .94  1.9 

25  1.00  2.0 

35  1.08  2.2 

•  #  * 

•  •  * 

''Thus,  for  example,  if  in  Reading  20  per  cent. 
of  the  houses  in  the  sample  are  found  to  be  four- 


SAMPLES  THAT  ARE  REPRESENTATIVE   121 

roomed,  we  deduce  that  the  number  of  four-roomed 
working-class  houses  in  the  borough  is  as  likely  as 
not  to  ditfer  from  20  per  cent,  of  all  working- 
class  houses  by  .94  per  cent.,  i.e.,  as  likely  as  not 
to  be  between  19.06  and  20.94,  and  is  very  un- 
likely to  differ  by  (3x.94)  2.8,  and  practically 
certain  not  to  differ  by  (5  x  .94)  4.7. '^ 

*^  Taking  three  times  the  probable  error  as  a 
reasonable  measure,  we  can  say  that  when  we  find 
5  per  cent,  in  the  sample,  we  may  write  3V2  to  6]/^ 
per  cent,  for  the  whole,  for  10  per  cent,  we  may 
write  8  to  12  per  cent,  for  the  whole,  for  15  per 
cent,  we  may  write  12^/^  to  17%  per  cent.,  etc.'' 

EMPIRICAX.  EULES   FOR  REPRESENTATIVE   SAMPLING 

The  foregoing  example  of  the  theory  and  prac- 
tice of  random  sampling  will  give  the  student  an 
introduction  to  the  scientific  basis  of  sampling. 

Let  us  now  conclude  our  treatment  of  this  spe- 
cial technique  of  field  work,  by  summarizing  in  the 
form  of  empirical  rules  the  procedure  of  selecting 
a  random  sample  that  shall  be  representative  of  a 
complex  aggregate. 

A.  Empirical  rules  for  sampling  when  the 
composition  of  the  population  to  be  studied  is 
known. 

1.  Composition  of  the  sample:  the  sample  should 
include  all  the  essential  elements  of  the  material  to  be 
studied.  The  essential  elements  are  those  elements  in 
the  composition  of  the  material  under  investigation  which 
give  it  its  distinctive  character.  Example:  in  studies  of 
standard  of  living  by  family  budgets  such  elements  as, 


122     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

size  of  family,  income,  number  of  dependents,  nation- 
ality, etc.,  are  determining  elements. 

2.  Size  of  the  sample  is  limited, 

(1)  The  lower  limit  is  the  smallest  number  which 

includes  all  the  essential  elements,  and 

(2)  the  upper  limit  is  the  largest  number  that  can 

be  efficiently  handled. 

3.  Procedure  to  follow  in  selecting  the  smallest  sample 
that  is  nevertheless  representative. 

(1)  Analyze  the  whole  population  into  its  essential 

elements ; 

(2)  Select  at  random  a  sub-sample  to  represent  each 

essential  element; 

(3)  The  actual  size  of  each  such  sub-sample  should 

be, 

(a)  directly  proportional  to  the  magnitude  of  this 

element  as  a  part  of  the  whole  (principle  of 
relative  size) , 

(b)  but  should  be  large  enough  to  represent  the 

character  and  range  of  variation  among  all 
items  of  this  particular  class  (principle  of 
absolute  size). 

Let  us  take  a  hypothetical  case  in  order  to  see 
how  these  rules  apply.  Suppose  that  we  are  to 
make  a  study  of  the  standard  of  living  of  work- 
ing-class families  in  a  certain  locality.  To  follow 
rule  #3,  (1),  analysis  shows  that  such  factors  as, 

nationality, 

income  and  wages, 

ages  of  members  of  family, 

number  of  dependents, 

occupation  of  chief  wage-earner,  etc., 

are  essential  elements  in  determining  the  stand- 
ard of  living  among  working-class  families  which 


SAMPLES  THAT  ARE  REPRESENTATIVE   123 

have  been  made  the  subject  of  previous  investiga- 
tions. We  must  then  select  at  random  a  sub- 
sample  to  represent  each  of  these  elements  ade- 
quately. To  begin  with  the  nationality  element 
first,  we  may  find  in  the  locality  studied  that  there 
are, 

5,000  American  families 

10,000  Irish  families 

25,000  Italian  families 

28,000  Polish  families 

32,000  Russian  famihes 


100,000  Working-class  families 

Then  the  Italian  sub-sample  for  nationality 
should  be  25  per  cent,  of  the  whole  sample,  since 
Italian  families  are  25  per  cent,  of  the  whole  pop- 
ulation. Similarly  for  the  sub-samples  of  other 
nationalities  or  racial  groups.  In  this  way  we 
secure  a  notion  of  the  relative  magnitudes  of  the 
sub-samples  for  the  element  of  nationality  or  ra- 
cial make-up. 

But  how  many  Italian  families  must  we  have  in 
order  that  the  sub-sample  of  Italian  families  may 
be  representative  of  the  character  and  range  in 
the  standard  of  living  for  this  group  ?  We  should 
make  this  sub-sample  numerically  large  enough  to 
show  the  range  of  variation  in  the  factors  other 
than  nationality  or  racial  make-up  (which  is  the 
constant  factor  in  this  sub-sample),  for  example, 
the  true  range  of  variation  in  income,  size  of  fam- 
ily, etc.,  among  the  Italians.  By  this  procedure 
we  determine  the  actual  or  absolute  size  of  this 


124     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

particular  sub-sample  (as  distinguished  from  its 
mere  relative  size),  i.e.,  we  discover  the  lower 
limit  of  size  for  a  sample  which  represents  the 
element  of  income,  etc.  Suppose  the  income 
range  is  as  follows — 

Under  $25.00  per  week,   17,000  families 

$25  to  $29.99  per  week, 5,000  families 

$30  to  $34.99  per  week, 2,000  families 

$35  and  over  per  week,  1,000  families 

then  our  sub-sample  should  contain  no  less  than 
25  families  in  case  we  wish  to  have  the  highest 
class  represented  in  proportion  (of  one  in  25). 
If  we  desire  two  families  in  this  class  $35.00  and 
over,  then  to  be  rigidly  logical  our  sub-sample 
ought  to  contain  50  families;  and  since  this  sub- 
sample  is  to  be  25  per  cent,  of  the  whole  sample, 
the  whole  sample  on  the  same  proportional  basis 
should  include  a  group  of  at  least  200  families. 
The  procedure  would  be  similar  for  other  sub- 
samples  and  in  all  other  nationality  elements,  i.e., 
for  Irish,  Polish,  Eussian,  etc. 

To  vary  our  illustration,  suppose  that  in  the 
hypothetical  case,  we  should  start  from  the  wage 
classification  instead  of  the  nationality  grouping. 
Our  procedure  might  then  be  as  follows : 

First,  visit  each  typical  mill,  manufacturing  es- 
tablishment, or  commercial  enterprise,  in  the  com- 
munity to  get  the  industrial  occupational  range; 
second,  from  each  payroll  classify  employees  by 
wage  differences  indicative  of  grades  of  skill; 
third,  within  each  wage  class  arrange  employees 


SAMPLirS  THAT  ARE  REPRESENTATIVE     125 

by  naticnality;  fourth,  within  each  nationality 
class  arrange  employees  by  name  alphabetically; 
fifth,  check  every  5th  or  10th  name  (depending 
upon  the  size  of  the  sample  to  be  taken),  for  a 
visit  to  that  family.  The  combined  names  from 
all  lists  will  then  constitute  a  random  sample  rep- 
resentative of  the  total  wage-earning  population. 
B.  Empirical  rules  for  sampling  when  the 
composition  of  the  whole  population  to  be  investi- 
gated is  not  known  by  former  studies. 

1.  We  can  not  always  start  from  the  assumption  that 
the  determining  elements  in  the  composition  of  the  whole 
large  group  which  we  wish  to  test  by  sample,  are  known. 
Of  course  this  is  the  case  in  investigations  of  standards 
of  living  of  American  working-class  families,  because 
many  studies  of  this  subject  have  been  made  and  in  all 
of  them  such  elements  as  income,  nationality,  size  of 
family,  number  of  dependents,  etc.,  were  found  to  be 
important  elements.  In  many  subjects  of  social  investi- 
gation, however,  we  do  not  know  what  the  determining 
elements  are.  In  such  cases  we  must  rely  on  the  pro- 
cedure of  random  sampling.  We  must  repeatedly  dip 
into  the  unknown  whole  and  select  at  random  as  many 
independent  sample  groups  as  possible.  Moreover,  each 
such  sample  group  should  be  as  large  as  efficient  handling 
permits. 

2.  We  might  go  on  indefinitely  selecting  samples  in 
this  way,  but  in  general,  we  may  follow  this  rule:  stop 
selecting  independent  sample  groups  as  soon  as  compar- 
ison of  the  sample  groups  taken  reveals  a  definite  tend- 
ency among  the  groups, 

(1)  for  slight  variations  to  be  more  numerous  than 

large  variations,  and 

(2)  for  variations  in  one  direction  to  occur  as  fre- 

quently as  variations  in  the  other  direction. 


126     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 


SELECTED  REFERENCES 

Aronovici,  Carol  — The  Social  Survey,  1916. 

Bowley,  A.  L. — Elementary  Manual  of  Statistics, 
1910,  ch.  7,  part  I. 

Bowley,  A.  L.,  and  Burnet-Hurst,  R.  R. — Livelihood 
and  Poverty,  1915,  ch.  6. 

Bowley,  A.  L. — Elements  of  Statistics,  1901. 

Byington,  M.  F. — What  Social  Workers  Should  Know 
About  Their  Own  Communities,  1912  (Russell  Sage 
Found.  Pamphlet). 

Elmer,  M.  C. — Technique  of  Social  Surveys,  1920. 

Harrison,  S.  M. — Community  Action  Thurogh  Sur- 
veys, 1916  (R.  S.  F.). 

Kellogg,  P.  U.,  et.  al,  "The  Social  Survey,"  1912  (R. 
S.  F.). 

Methods  of  Investigation  in  Social  and  Health  Prob- 
lems, by  Armstrong,  Schneider  and  Dublin,  1917  (R. 
S.  F.). 

Peirce,  C.  S.— ''A  Theory  of  Probable  Inference," 
Studies  in  Logic,  Johns  Hopkins  University,  1883,  pp. 
126-187. 

Taylor,  C.  C— ''The  Social  Survey,  Its  History  and 
Methods,"  University  of  Missouri  Bulletin,  vol.  20,  no. 
28,  1919. 

Yule,  G.  U. — An  Introduction  to  the  Theory  of  Sta- 
tisHcs,  1912,  Chaps.  13,  14  &  17. 


CHAPTEE  VI 

COMPLETE  ENUMERA.TION  OF  A  GOVERNMENT  CENSUS 

THE   TECHNIQUE   OF   FULL  CANVASS 

In  the  two  preceding  chapters  the  field  work 
techniques  of  investigating  some  part  of  a  popu- 
lation were  described.  We  must  now  consider  the 
technique  of  studying  the  whole  population.  For 
certain  purposes  we  found  that  the  investigation 
of  individuals  or  groups  less  than  the  whole  popu- 
lation was  sufficient.  Such  a  partial  canvass  or 
case  study  is  much  less  costl}^  in  money  and  time 
than  the  canvass  of  an  entire  population.  Indi- 
viduals and  private  agencies  rarely  have  the  finan- 
cial resources  or  the  power  to  compel  answers,  and 
so  we  find  that  the  highest  development  of  a  field 
work  technique  for  enumerating  the  entire  popu- 
lation of  great  areas  has  been  developed  by  the 
census  agencies  of  governments. 

PURPOSE   AND   SCOPE    OF   THE   CENSUS 

Census  taking  in  the  United  States  had  its  ori- 
gin in  our  theory  of  government.^^  The  Federal 
House  of  Representatives  is  composed  of  persons 
selected  by  approximately  an  equal  number  of 

53  Coiutitution  of  the  United  States,  Art.  I,  sec.  3. 

127 


128     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

voters.  In  order  to  select  representatives  in  this 
way  it  is  necessary  to  know  the  population  of  dif- 
ferent political  areas.  Canvass  of  the  population 
to  effect  the  basis  of  representation,  involves  the 
problems  of  laying  off  districts,  as  well  as  periodic 
census  taking.  An  accurate  knowledge  of  popu- 
lation is  also  necessary  for  the  apportionment  of 
direct  taxes. 

The  first  census  of  the  United  States  taken  in 
1790  was  a  primitive  affair  when  compared  with 
the  elaborate  and  extensive  organization  that  ex- 
ists today  for  the  same  purpose.  In  1790  the  en- 
tire field  staff  was  composed  of  17  marshals  and 
650  assistant  marshals.  This  group  of  canvass- 
ers enumerated  a  population  of  3,920,214  persons. 
Only  five  inquiries  were  made  and  no  printed 
schedules  were  provided  the  enumerators.  Can- 
vass in  these  times  was  beset  with  many  difficulties 
because  of  the  primitive  means  of  travel.  Koads 
were  poor,  bridges  few,  and  even  town  boundaries 
undefined.  The  marshals  encountered  opposi- 
tion to  the  census  in  some  quarters  because  people 
had  heard  of  the  disagreeable  consequences  de- 
scribed in  the  Old  Testament  which  followed  the 
enum.eration  of  the  children  of  Israel.^ ^  It  is  not 
without  reason  then,  that  the  first  enumeration 
took  18  months  to  complete.  Compare  -with  the 
1910  census  with  a  field  staff  of  320  inspectors  and 
70,286  enumerators,  using  carefully  printed  pop- 
ulation   schedules    containing  30   inquiries,   and 

54  The  Story  of  the  Census,  Bureau  of  Census,  1915. 


A  GOVERNMENT  CENSUS  129 

enumerating  a  population  of  91,972,266  in  one 
month. 

Because  the  purpose  of  the  census  is  what  it  is, 
complete  enumeration  of  all  individuals  is  abso- 
lutely essential.  A  large  field  force  is  required  to 
get  accurate  and  complete  returns.  But  trained 
field  workers  are  few,  hence  the  government  has 
had  to  use  great  numbers  of  untrained  enumera- 
tors. By  careful  pre-planning  and  an  elaborate 
organization  of  the  field  w^ork,  it  has  been  possible 
to  utilize  the  services  of  untrained  enumerators 
and  still  get  good  results.  Lack  of  training  is 
partially  offset  by  careful  organization  of  the  field 
work  into  its  smallest  details.  Statistical  experts 
plan  the  field  work  with  great  care  and  analyze 
the  problem  into  its  minute  elements.  Each  ele- 
ment is  then  so  clearly  defined  and  isolated  that 
untrained  observers  (enumerators)  can  get  almost 
as  good  results  in  accuracy  and  completeness  as 
trained  workers.  Range  of  judgment  of  the 
enumerator  is  reduced  to  a  minimum  by  detailed 
instructions  on  every  possible  point.  There  is  an 
analogy  in  this  plan  of  organizing  field  w^ork  to 
the  modern  organization  of  manufacturing  indus- 
try, in  which  a  division  of  labor  and  a  specializa- 
tion in  production  is  worked  out  by  experts  and 
then  put  into  operation  so  that  unskilled  labor  may 
be  used  in  the  manufacture  of  highly  complex  ar- 
ticles, which  under  earlier  conditions  of  produc- 
tion could  have  been  produced  only  by  skilled 
artisans. 


130     FIELD  WOEK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

MASSACHUSETTS   STATE   CENSUS   OF  1915 

As  an  example  of  the  field  work  tedinique  of 
complete  enumeration,  let  us  examine  tlie  organi- 
zation and  methods  of  the  Massachusetts  State 
Census  of  1915,  which  enumerated  a  population  of 
3,693,310. 

According  to  the  state  constitution,  a  census  is 
required  to  provide  the  information  about  popu- 
lation upon  which  representative  government  may 
be  organized.  It  is  necessary  to  determine  the 
number  of  legal  voters  to  provide  a  basis  for  the 
apportionment  of  representatives  in  the  state  leg- 
islature. The  state  constitution  nowhere  explic- 
itly defines  the  term  legal  voters  and  so  it  is  nee 
essary  to  examine  the  different  provisions  of  the 
constitution  in  order  to  assist  in  this  determina- 
tion. In  determining  legal  voters  certain  specific 
information  about  each  individual  in  the  state  is 
obtained,  which  is  incidentally  of  great  value  for 
other  purposes.^^ 

**For  example,  since  a  person  must  be  a  male  in 
order  to  come  within  the  category  of  *  legal  vot- 
ers,' it  is  first  necessary  to  classify  the  popula- 
tion by  sex, — and  to  do  this  we  must  ascertain  the 
number  of  males  and  females  respectively;  again, 
a  male  in  order  to  qualify  for  voting  must  be  21 
years  of  age  or  over, — consequently  it  is  necessary 
to  ask  every  male  person  his  age  in  order  that 

55  The  Decennial  Census  of  the  Commomcealth  of  Massachusetts, 
1915,  Part  I,  pp.  5-6. 


A  GOVERNMENT  CENSUS  131 

those  21  years  of  age  or  over  may  be  separated 
from  those  under  that  age;  it  is  necessary,  also, 
that  he  be  a  citizen, — consequently  we  must  ascer- 
tain his  place  of  birth,  and  if  it  appears  that  he  is 
foreign  born,  it  becomes  further  necessary  to  as- 
certain whether  he  has  acquired  citizenship  by 
becoming  naturalized  by  his  own  act  or  that  of 
his  father ;  his  period  of  residence  in  Massachu- 
setts and  in  the  city  or  town  in  which  he  resides 
must  likewise  be  ascertained  for  each  male,  in 
order  to  determine  how  many  have  resided  in  the 
State  one  year  and  in  the  city  or  town  of  residence, 
six  months ;  and  since,  in  order  to  qualify  for  the 
franchise,  he  must  be  able  to  read  and  write  the 
English  language,  we  must  determine  who  are  able 
to  do  this.  It  is  further  necessary  to  ascertain 
how  many  male  persons  are  paupers  or  under 
guardianship — a  pauper  being  for  the  practical 
purposes  of  the  census,  one  who  from  disease,  in- 
temperance, misfortune,  or  any  other  cause  has 
become  dependent  wholly  or  partially  upon  public 
charity;  and  a  person  under  guardianship  being 
for  census  purposes,  one  whom  it  is  necessary  to 
keep  under  restraint,  such  as  an  inmate  of  a  penal 
institution,  an  insane  hospital,  etc.,  as  well  as  an 
idiot  cared  for  in  a  private  family. ' ' 

The  personnel  of  the  1915  Massachusetts  State 
Census  was  organized  into  two  distinct  staffs  of 
workers;  a  permanent  office  staff  of  experienced 
employees  in  number  about  200  at  the  maximum; 
and  a  temporary  field  staff  of  large  size  working 


132     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

for  about  30  days  to  six  weeks  at  small  compensa- 
tion and  numbering  some  2041  individuals.  On 
the  field  staff  there  were  1998  enumerators  whose 
work  was  supervised  in  the  field  by  43  inspectors. 
Some  5,000,000  schedules  were  handled  by  both 
staffs. 

PEEPAEATION   FOB  FIELD   WORK 

Before  the  field  work  of  enumeration  began  ex- 
tensive preparations  were  made;  schedules  had 
to  be  prepared  and  a  great  variety  of  forms  to 
cover  the  intricate  details  of  the  work  drawn  up ; 
the  area  of  the  state  was  divided  into  enumeration 
districts;  a  publicity  plan  to  acquaint  the  people 
with  the  purposes  and  methods  of  the  census  was 
undertaken  to  secure  intelligent  cooperation  at  the 
time  of  canvass ;  and  measures  were  taken  for  the 
careful  selection  of  the  field  force.  Let  us  con- 
sider these  preparations  in  order. 

Card  schedules  were  used  in  preference  to  the 
large  size  paper  schedule  of  the  Federal  census. 
The  former  are  somewhat  easier  to  write  upon, 
and  simpler  to  edit,  classify  and  tabulate  from, 
than  the  paper  schedule  measuring  16  x  23  inches 
with  space  for  100  different  individuals,  50  on 
each  side  of  the  schedule.  For  the  enumeration 
of  population,  card  schedules  3%  ^  6%  inches 
made  in  four  colors  were  prepared.  Blue  cards 
were  used  for  males,  pink  for  females,  yellow  for 
the  family  card,  and  white  for  enumerating  civil 
war  veterans.     Since  in  1915,  women  did  not  en- 


A  GOVERNMENT  CENSUS  133 

joy  the  franchise  in  Massachusetts,  it  was  only  on 
the  male  card  that  the  full  number  of  inquiries  in- 
cluding specific  questions  about  qualifications  for 
voting  were  printed.  The  nature  of  the  thirty- 
five  inquiries  asked  may  be  seen  from  the  sched- 
ules shown  in  figures  5  and  6.  The  population 
schedule  used  in  the  United  States  census  of  1920 
provides  for  twenty-nine  entries  besides  inquiries 
1,  7,  8,  and  11  in  common  with  the  state  schedule. 
Inquiries  number  9  and  10  are  not  asked,  but  in- 
formation on  tenure  of  home  such  as  whether 
rented,  or  if  owned,  whether  free  or  mortgaged, 
are  asked.  The  special  requirements  for  voting 
in  Massachusetts  according  to  the  provisions  of 
the  state  constitution  determine  the  form  and 
number  of  inquiries  about  citizenship  and  cause 
these  to  differ  from  those  used  in  the  Federal 
schedule.  Moreover,  in  the  latter  schedule,  the 
inquiry  about  nativity  is  supplemented  by  an  in- 
quiry to  determine  in  each  case  the  mother  tongue 
of  the  person,  his  mother  and  his  father. 

An  important  part  of  the  work  preliminary  to 
enumeration  is  the  preparation  of  the  **  Enumera- 
tor's Instruction  Book.''  This  consists  of  a  book 
of  convenient  size  in  which  are  provided  full  in- 
structions covering  the  duties  and  rights  of  the 
enumerator,  how  he  is  to  make  his  canvass,  just 
what  persons  he  is  expected  to  enumerate,  ex- 
actly those  not  to  be  enumerated  (in  case  of  a 
state  census  persons  whose  regular  home  is  in 
another  state  but  who  are  in  temporary  residence 


1915- 


-CENSUS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS- 


•1915 


POPULATION  SCHEDULE 

Approved  by  the  Governor  and  Council,  July  15,  1914 
(Chap.   692,   Acts  of   1914) 


l-ENUMERA- 
TION    DISTRICT 
NO. 

949 


MALS 

[C-15-38] 


2-HOUSE  NO. 
(Order  of  Visita- 
tion) 
40 


3-FAMILY  NO. 
(Order  of  Visita- 
tion) 

39 


4-SUENAME 


Smith 


5-CHRISTIAN  NAME  and 
INITIAL 

William  H. 


6-RESIDENCE   (Street  and  No.) 

410  MUk  St. 


7-TOWN 


(or    CITY) 

Worcester 


8-WARD 
6 


9-PRECINCT 
5 


10-BLOCK    NO. 
X 


11-COUNTY 

War. 


12-NAME  of  PUBLIC  or   PRIVATE  INSTITUTION 

X 


IS-RELATION  to  HEAD   of 
FAMILY 

Father 


14-COLOR   or 
RACE 

W. 


15-CONJUGAL 
CONDITION 

W. 


16-ABLE   to    READ   ENGLISH 
or,  if  not,  what  LANGUAGE 


Eng. 


17-ABLE    to    WRITE    ENGLISH 
or,  if  not,   what  LANGUAGE 


Eng. 


18-WAR  VET- 
ERAN 

Civil 


19-RATABLE   POLL 


20-LEGAL  VOTER 


21-NATURALIZED  VOTER 


22-ALIEN 


Yes 
Yes 
Yes 


X 


30-PLACE  of  BIRTH  of  this 
PERSON 

/tufta 


31-PLACE  of  BIRTH  of  HIS 
FATHER 

England 


32-PLACE  of  BIRTH  of  HIS 
MOTHER 

Wales 


23~" 

BLIND 

(Both 

Eyes) 

Yea 


24- 

PAUPER 

X 


25- 
IDIOT 

X 


26-AGE    (at   last    birth- 
day) 


27-NUMBER   of 
MONTHS    resident    dur- 
ing   CENSUS    YEAR    in 
town    (or  city)    in  which 
NOW  LIVING 


28-NUMBER  of  YEARS 
RESIDENT  in  MASSA- 
CHUSETTS 


29-NUMBER  of  YEARS 
RESIDENT  in  the 
UNITED  STATES 


12/12 


20 


33-TOWN         (or        CITY) 
WHICH  EMPLOYED 
X 


IN 


34-TRADE  or  PROFESSION  of,  or 
PARTICULAR     KIND     of     WORK 
done  by  this  person,  as  SPINNER, 
SALESMAN,  LABORER,  ETC. 
Own  income 


35-NATURE  of  INDUSTRY, 
BUSINESS,  or  ESTABLISH- 
MENT in  which  this  person 
works,  as  COTTON  MILL,  DRY 
GOODS  STORE,  FARM,  ETC. 
X 


Figure  6.     Population  Schedule   (male)   Massachusetts  State 

census  1915. 

134 


1915- 


-CENSUS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS- 


1915 


POPULATION  SCHEDTJLE 

Approved  by  the   Governor  and  Council,   July  15,    1914 
(Chap.  692,  Acts  of  1914) 


1-ENUMERA- 
TION    DISTRICT 
NO. 

949 


FAMILY 

[C-15-37] 


2-HOUSE  NO. 
(Order  of  Visita- 
tion) 

40 


3-FAMILY   NO. 
(Order  of  Visita- 
tion) 
39 


4-SUKNAME   (Head  of  Family) 
Smith 


5-CirRISTIAN  NAME  and 
INITIAL 

James  B. 


6-EESlDENCE    (Street  and  No.) 

410  Milk  St. 


7-TOWN    (or   CITY) 

Worcester 


8-NAME  of  VILLAGE  or 
SECTION 

X 


9-COUNTY 
Wor. 


10-WARD 


11-PRECINCT 
5 


12-BLOOK  NUMBER 
X 


13-KIND  of  HOUSE  or  HABITATION 

Single  detached  brick 


14-NAME  of  PUBLIC  or  PRIVATE  INSTITUTION 

X 


15-Number       of       SUITES, 
PLATS.     TENEMENTS,     or 
APARTMENTS       in       this 
HOUSE  or 
HABITATION 


16-Number       of       SUITES, 
FLATS,     TENEMENTS,     or 
APARTMENTS 
UNOCCUPIED 


17-Number   of   ROOMS 
OCCUPIED   by  this 
FAMILY 


18-Number   of  MALES 
whose    PLACE    of    ABODE 
on  APRIL  1,   1915,   was  in 
this  FAMILY 


19-Number  of  FEMALES 
whose  PLACE  of  ABODE 
on  APRIL  1,  1915,  was  in 
this  FAMILY 


20-Number  of  FAMILIES 
enumerated  in  this  HOUSE 
or  HABITATION 


Fig.  6.     Population  Schedule — Family  Card — ^Massachusetts 

State  Census. 

135 


136     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

as  visitors,  students  at  schools,  etc.,  are  not  enu- 
merated), and  giving  special  instructions  for  mak- 
ing out  the  census  schedules  including  a  para- 
graph in  explanation  of  each  one  of  the  thirty-five 
inquiries.  The  1915  book  of  instructions  con- 
tained 38  pages  of  explanation  and  directions 
carefully  indexed,  constituting  a  useful  treatment 
of  the  field  work  technique  of  complete  enumera- 
tion. The  book,  ** Instructions  to  Enumerators" 
used  in  the  United  States  Census  of  1920  com- 
prises 58  pages  of  explanations  and  directions 
grouped  under  280  paragraphs  and  including  ex- 
tracts from  the  last  census  act.  It  supplies  a  de- 
scription of  the  field  work  technique  of  the  Fed- 
eral census. 

Enumerators  in  the  state  census  were  supplied 
with  an  *^ Enumerator's  Street  Book''  to  supple- 
ment the  returns  made  on  the  card  schedules  in 
order  that  a  further  check  on  accuracy  and  com- 
pleteness of  canvass  might  be  had.  This  book 
was  prepared  prior  to  the  beginning  of  the  enu- 
meration and  each  field  worker  was  provided  with 
a  copy.  In  this  book  the  enumerator  was  required 
to  account  for  every  building  not  reported  on  the 
yellow  family  card  as  a  dwelling;  such  for  exam- 
ple as,  closed  dwelhngs,  unoccupied  dwellings, 
public  buildings  or  business  buildings  not  dwell- 
ings, and  vacant  lots.  The  ** street  book"  was 
first  used  in  the  Census  of  1905  for  the  canvass  of 
population  in  the  larger  cities  of  the  State.  The 
device  was  so  successful  as  a  means  of  securing 


A  GOVERNMENT  CENSUS  137 

accuracy  and  completeness  in  returns  that  its  use 
was  continued  in  1915,  and  it  was  applied  to  semi- 
urban  as  well  as  urban  populations. 

In  order  to  keep  check  on  the  work  of  enumera- 
tors in  the  field,  and  for  the  purpose  of  keeping 
the  various  records  required  by  the  clerical  and 
mechanical  processes  of  the  office  as  well  as  for 
tabulating  purposes,  some  164  additional  printed 
forms  were  used.  Among  these  forms  were  the 
enumerator's  commission,  a  description  of  each 
enumerator's  district  with  a  map,  postal  forms 
for  daily  work  reports,  sub-vouchers  for  use  by 
enumerators  in  securing  receipts  from  persons  to 
whom  money  was  paid  for  expenses  on  account  of 
Census  purposes,  and  interpreters'  appointment 
blanks. 

The  basic  geographical  unit  of  census  work 
from  field  work  to  tabulation  was  the  enumeration 
district.  The  area  of  the  State  was  divided  into 
enumeration  districts  of  approximately  equal  pop- 
ulation. Determination  of  these  districts  was 
made  with  great  care.  In  order  to  avoid  misun- 
derstanding, the  boundaries  of  every  district  were 
indicated  by  lines  drawoi  on  maps,  as  well  as  by 
written  descriptions.  The  census  office  made  use 
of  ordinary  maps  and  street  maps  obtained  from 
commercial  map  makers,  maps  from  directories, 
and  photographs,  and  blue  prints  of  the  United 
States  Government's  typographical  survey  maps 
of  the  Harbor  and  Land  Commission.  In  all,  353 
such  maps  of  cities  and  towns  were  obtained.    It 


138     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

was  of  utmost  importance  to  secure  correct  maps 
in  order  that  errors  due  to  enumerators  crossing 
over  from  their  own  district  into  another  and  du- 
plicating the  canvass  of  population  there  might  be 
avoided.  Throughout  the  state  there  were  some 
2099  enumeration  districts.  This  number  in- 
cluded 104  so-called  ^^Institution  Districts/'  or 
the  population  living  on  the  premises  of  certain 
public  and  private  institutions.  It  also  included 
62  so-called  **x''  districts,  which  were  the  result 
of  necessary  sub-divisions  of  districts  originally 
laid  out  and  found  difficult  to  canvass  for  some 
reason.  The  city  of  Boston  was  canvassed  by  the 
*^ block  system/'  using  the  assessor's  block  as  a 
unit  and  running  up  to  a  total  of  4582  such  blocks. 

In  order  that  the  public  might  be  in  a  receptive 
frame  of  mind  for  census  taking,  an  endeavor  was 
made  to  prepare  the  way  for  enumerators  by 
means  of  a  publicity  campaign.  To  the  women's 
clubs  throughout  the  state  some  45,000  copies  of  a 
leaflet,  embodying  the  questions  to  appear  on  the 
population  schedules,  were  sent;  and  to  persons 
in  a  position  to  distribute  them  effectively  10,000 
copies  of  a  pamphlet,  entitled  *^Why  the  Census 
Is  Taken"  were  sent.  Copies  of  a  proclamation 
by  the  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth  and  trans- 
lated into  seven  languages  were  distributed  to 
churches,  libraries,  schools,  and  other  organiza- 
tions, where  the  same  could  be  given  publicity. 

The  field  force  was  selected  from  a  list  of  those 
who  passed  satisfactorily  Civil  Service  examina- 


A  GOVERNMENT  CENSUS  139 

tions.  The  questions  given  on  the  examination 
were  accompanied  by  facsimiles  of  the  different 
population  schedules  and  a  narrative  history  to 
elicit  from  the  candidate  information  as  to  his 
practical  qualifications  for  securing  the  required 
data  and  entering  it  upon  the  schedule.  Appoint- 
ments of  enumerators  were  made  on  the  basis  of 
ratings  of  the  applicants,  who  had  passed  this  ex- 
amination except  in  certain  cases  where  age,  sex, 
or  knowledge  of  some  foreign  language  was  a  spe- 
cial qualification.  Candidates  for  the  position  of 
inspector  and  special  agent  were  also  subjected  to 
this  examination  and  appointments  were  made 
from  those  who  passed  the  examination. 

Since  the  narrative  history  used  for  the  exami- 
nation was  written  with  the  view  of  including 
within  its  scope  most  of  the  complications  and  dif- 
ficulties which  the  enumerator  would  meet  in  his 
canvass,  perhaps  no  clearer  idea  of  the  difficulties 
faced  by  the  enumerator  and  the  complications 
which  he  had  to  solve  could  be  given  to  the  reader 
than  to  reproduce  herewith  the  narrative.  It  will 
be  observed  the  male  schedule  and  the  family 
schedule  shown  in  figures  5  and  6,  respectively, 
are  filled  in  on  the  basis  of  this  narrative. 

NARRATIVE 

You  are  to  suppose  yourself  to  have  been  duly 
commissioned  an  enumerator  for  Enumeration 
District  No.  949  which,  for  the  purposes  of  this 
Narrative  may  be  said  to  be  a  part  of  Precinct  5, 


140     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

Ward  6,  of  the  city  of  Worcester,  and  to  have 
called  at  39  houses,  one  of  which  was  an  unoccu- 
pied three-family  apartment  house,  and  to  have 
enumerated  38  families.  This  is  the  tenth  day  of 
April  and  you  are  about  to  enumerate  the  family 
of  James  B.  Smith,  living  at  410  Milk  Street,  a 
single  detached  brick  house  of  13  rooms. 

James  B.  Smitli  was  born  in  England,  May  25, 
1855,  his  father  having  been  bom  in  Calcutta, 
India,  and  his  mother  in  Edinburgh,  Scotland ;  he 
came  to  this  country  in  1859  with  his  parents,  who 
settled  first  in  New  York  State,  but  removed  in 
1875  to  Boston;  in  1890  he  came  to  Worcester,  in 
which  city  he  has  lived  since.  He  was  married  in 
1877.  He  is  a  bookkeeper  by  profession,  being  in 
the  employ  of  an  establishment  in  Worcester, 
manufacturing  copper  wire. 

Hannah  Smith,  wife  of  James,  was  bom  in  Ger- 
many, Jan.  2,  1860.  Her  father  was  a  native  of 
Bohemia  and  her  mother  of  Denmark.  She  emi- 
grated to  the  United  States  with  her  parents  in 
1865;  in  1870  they  settled  in  Springfield,  Mass., 
where  Hannah  graduated  from  the  high  school  and 
lived  until  her  marriage  to  Mr.  Smith,  when  she 
removed  to  Worcester.  She  has  no  occupation 
but  that  of  housewife. 

Jane  Smith,  daughter,  was  born  in  Worcester, 
Mass.,  June  14, 1890 ;  is  a  graduate  of  the  Worces- 
ter High  School,  unmarried  and  has  always  lived 
at  home  with  her  parents.     She  is  employed  as  a 


A  GOVERNMENT  CENSUS  141 

teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  the  neighboring 
town  of  Southbridge. 

John  Smith,  son,  was  bom  in  Worcester,  Sept. 
10, 1891 ;  graduated  from  the  Worcester  Polytech- 
nic School,  made  an  unhappy  marriage  and  ob- 
tained a  final  decree  of  divorce  on  April  5,  1915 ; 
has  always  lived  in  Massachusetts,  being  located 
in  Fitchburg  from  Sept.  1,  1912,  to  Nov.  1,  1914, 
and  since  then  has  lived  with  his  parents ;  is  now 
employed  as  an  electrical  engineer  in  one  of  the 
Worcester  city  departments. 

Mary  Smith,  daughter,  was  bom  in  Worcester, 
Dec.  30,  1893,  and  has  always  lived  in  that  city; 
graduated  from  the  high  school  in  1911 ;  was  mar- 
ried in  1913  to  Daniel  Murphy,  a  native  of  Nova 
Scotia,  who  met  with  a  fatal  accident  in  January, 
1915,  when  his  wife  returned  to  her  father's  house 
to  live. 

Martha  Smith,  sister,  was  born  April  30,  1859, 
on  shipboard  during  the  passage  of  the  family 
from  England;  had  a  grammar  school  education; 
has  never  married  and  has  always  lived  with  her 
brother  and  his  family ;  in  later  years  has  suffered 
from  a  mental  trouble  and  on  the  advice  of  the 
family  physician  went  recently  to  a  sanitarium  in 
Brookline  for  treatment,  anticipating  being  able 
to  return  home  in  a  few  months. 

William  H.  Smith,  father,  was  born  in  Calcutta, 
India,  Feb.  10,  1833,  his  father  being  a  native  of 
Liverpool,  and  his  mother  of  Cardiff,  Wales;  he 


142     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

emigrated  to  the  United  States  in  1859.  In  1865 
he  took  out  his  final  naturalization  papers,  but  in 
the  meantime  enlisted  for  service  in  the  Civil  "War 
in  Co.  B,  Sixteenth  Eegiment  of  Infantry,  New 
York  Volunteers.  He  has  not  been  able  to  work 
for  several  years,  having  become  totally  blind  as 
the  result  of  a  wound  received  in  battle,  but  en- 
joys a  modest  independent  income,  which  enables 
him  to  pay  for  his  board  and  lodging  and  other 
ordinary  living  expenses.  He  came  to  Massachu- 
setts in  1895,  and  since  the  death  of  his  wife  has 
lived  with  his  son  in  Worcester. 

Alexander  Petrovshy,  lodger,  a  dealer  in  fruit, 
lives  with  the  Smith  family.  He  was  born  in 
Warsaw,  Kussian  Poland,  Aug.  22, 1889,  his  father 
being  also  a  native  of  Warsaw  and  his  mother  of 
Moscow,  Eussia.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he 
came  to  this  country  and  has  lived  in  Massachu- 
setts since  1911,  and  in  Worcester  since  Septem- 
ber, 1914.  He  can  read  but  cannot  write  Eng- 
lish ;  but  he  can  both  read  and  write  Yiddish,  for 
he  is  a  Polish  Jew.    He  is  unmarried. 

Ellen  O'Neilj  domestic  servmit,  was  born  in 
Nova  Scotia,  June  14,  1891.  She  can  read  but 
cannot  write  English  and  knows  no  other  lan- 
guage. Her  father  was  born  in  Ireland  and  her 
mother  in  Scotland.  She  came  to  Boston  from 
Nova  Scotia  in  1904,  remaining  there  until  1905, 
when  she  came  to  Worcester  and  has  since  lived 
in  that  city. 


A  GOVERNMENT  CENSUS  143 

SUPERVISION   OF   FIELD  WORK 

The  author,  as  inspector  of  District  Number  39, 
had  under  his  supervision  30  enumerators,  en- 
gaged to  canvass  a  population  of  about  70,000  in- 
habitants, distributed  over  an  area  which  in- 
cluded one  city  and  four  different  towns.  Among 
these  30  enumerators  the  following  vocations  were 
represented:  teacher,  carpenter,  college  student, 
grocer,  mail  carrier,  high  school  student,  in  addi- 
tion to  men  and  women  temporarily  without  em- 
ployment. Enumerators  received  pay  on  a  piece- 
work basis,  accordingly  as  their  district  was  urban 
or  rural,  and  correspondingly  accessible  and  eas- 
ily traversed.  The}^  received  from  2%^  to  11^ 
per  person  enumerated.  In  addition,  1^  each  was 
paid  for  every  family  schedule  and  every  civil 
war  veteran  schedule  turned  in.  Inspectors  were 
paid  at  the  rate  of  from  $4  to  $5  a  day  and  ex- 
penses. Interpreters  received  not  more  than  30^ 
an  hour.  The  total  cost  of  the  field  work  of  the 
1915  Massachusetts  Census,  including  travel  ex- 
penses, was  $107,000  as  against  a  total  cost  of 
$160,000  for  a  smaller  population  enumerated  in 
1905,  but  when  the  pay  was  at  the  rate  of  $3  per 
diem  for  enumeration  instead  of  by  piece-work. 

Once  in  the  field,  enumerators  were  cautioned 
to  be  courteous  and  conciliatory  in  their  manner 
of  approach  under  all  circumstances.  The  infor- 
mation which  an  individual  gives  to  the  enumer- 
ator  is   regarded  as   strictly   confidential.     The 


144     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

method  of  canvass  is  to  proceed  from  left  to  right, 
following  the  contour  of  each  block,  and  being 
careful  to  ascertain  that  every  building  within  the 
block  is  visited  in  order  that  no  dwelling  house 
may  be  omitted.  The  usual  place  of  abode  of  a 
person  is  for  census  purposes  the  place  where  he 
sleeps.  The  population  is  enumerated  as  of  April 
1st.  This  excludes  individuals  bom  on  April 
2nd  and  afterwards,  but  includes  any  who  died 
after  April  1st.  Individuals,  who  as  visitors  are 
temporarily  included  as  members  of  a  given  fam- 
ily, are  not  enumerated  where  temporarily  found 
but  are  returned  for  their  usual  place  of  abode. 
Any  building  or  place  of  abode  in  which  any  per- 
son is  living  at  the  time  the  census  is  taken  is  re- 
garded as  a  dwelling  house — it  may  be  a  room  in 
a  factory,  a  loft  over  a  stable,  a  boat,  a  tent,  or  a 
freight  car. 

When  the  family  is  not  at  home  on  the  first  visit, 
the  enumerator  is  required  to  make  an  entry  to 
this  effect  in  his  **  street  book'^  and  to  return  the 
next  day  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  the  infor- 
mation and  properly  filling  the  schedules.  In 
some  cases  one  individual  of  the  family  is  away 
when  the  call  is  made.  In  such  instances  a  spe- 
cial form  of  inquiry  is  left  which  the  absentee  is 
asked  to  fill  in  himself  upon  his  return  and  leave 
in  an  official  sealed  envelope  for  the  enumerator  to 
collect  on  a  later  call.  The  enumerator  is  ex- 
pected to  enter  such  back  calls  in  his  ^*  street 
book.'' 


A  GOVERNMENT  CENSUS  145 

At  the  close  of  each  day's  work  the  enumerator 
fills  out  a  daily  report  card,  which  is  mailed  to  the 
census  office.  Hereon  is  given  a  memorandum  of 
the  number  of  schedules  filled  that  day.  Besides 
this  daily  report  to  the  office  the  enumerator  keeps 
for  his  own  record  a  copy  of  this  memorandum  en- 
tered upon  a  day's  work  ticket  which  is  placed  on 
top  of  the  pile  of  schedules  completed  that  day. 
When  the  canvass  of  a  district  is  concluded,  the 
enumerator  forwards  all  of  his  schedules  in  pack- 
ages to  the  central  office  by  prepaid  express. 

This  work  of  enumeration  is  supervised  in  the 
field  by  the  inspectors.  In  1915  there  were  from 
21  to  58  enumerators  under  the  supervision  of  an 
inspector.  The  inspector  holds  frequent  confer- 
ences with  the  enumerators  in  order  to  answer 
their  questions  and  assist  them  in  overcoming  dif- 
ficulties. At  these  times  he  examines  their  work 
by  random  inspection  of  schedules.  In  this  way 
faulty  work  is  discovered  and  enumerators  held 
up  to  standard.  An  inspector  may  often  work 
over  several  streets  behind  an  enumerator  and 
upon  meeting  him  check  up  the  latter 's  returns 
against  the  provisional  entries  that  he,  himself, 
made  for  the  purpose  of  checking.  When  inter- 
preters are  needed,  it  is  the  inspector's  duty  to 
inquire  into  the  circumstances  and  secure  the  serv- 
ices of  the  interpreter. 

Eural  districts  not  under  the  personal  super- 
vision of  inspectors  were  supervised  direct  from 
the  census  office  by  daily  correspondence  and  by 


146     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

occasional  visits  of  special  agents.  For  this  pur- 
pose, and  also  to  answer  the  letters  of  other  enu- 
merators, an  office  staff  of  7  correspondence  clerks 
was  maintained.  Each  clerk  attended  to  300  enu- 
merators. Answers  to  questions  raised  by  enu- 
merators in  the  field  were  mailed  out.  Wherever 
possible  frequently  occurring  inquiries  were  se- 
gregated so  that  all  enumerators  might  have  the 
benefit  of  an  answer  and  a  form  letter  was  sent 
out.  Generally  an  answer  to  the  question  or  a 
solution  of  the  difficulty  could  be  found  by  simply 
referring  the  enumerator  to  the  proper  page  and 
paragraph  of  the  instruction  book. 

Although  returns  from  the  smaller  and  more 
accessible  districts  came  in  promptly,  even  after 
a  few  days  in  certain  instances,  it  was  usually 
three  months  before  all  returns  w^ere  in.  Delays 
in  enumeration  were  due  to  a  variety  of  circum- 
stances. In  some  cases  enumerators  were  unable 
to  begin  promptly  or  could  give  but  part  time,  in 
other  cases  sickness,  negligence  and  unforeseen 
events  hampered  the  canvass.  With  such  a  large 
body  of  field  workers  the  causes  of  delay  are  nu- 
merous and  varied.  In  extreme  cases  clear  mali- 
cious neglect  of  duty  was  discovered.  But  even 
in  these  instances  dismissal  is  not  always  the  best 
remedy  for  even  when  a  competent  person  can  be 
found  to  act  as  a  substitute,  there  is  always  the 
question  of  arranging  the  details  of  taking  up  the 
work  where  the  discharged  enumerator  left  it  with 
the  likelihood  of  duplicating  or  omitting  popula- 


A  GOVERNMENT  CENSUS  147 

tion,  so  that  entire  re-canvass  may  have  to  be 
made  as  the  only  feasible  plan.  In  general,  the 
census  officials  are  obliged  to  be  as  tolerant  and 
patient  as  possible  in  the  face  of  all  these  vexa- 
tions since  the  peculiar  character  of  the  undertak- 
ing makes  the  work  of  temporary  character.  In 
this  respect  census  work  of  a  government  agency 
shows  a  likeness  to  many  private  enterprises 
where  extreme  tact  and  considerable  moral  sua- 
sion are  necessary  to  secure  good  results  when  the 
large  numbers  of  non-professional  or  volunteer 
workers  are  engaged. 

The  problems  of  editing  schedules,  compiling 
statistics  from  them,  of  classifying  and  tabulating 
these  returns,  will  be  considered  in  a  later  chapter. 

SELECTED  REFERENCES. 

Bowley,  A.  L. — The  Measurement  of  Social  Phe- 
nomena, 1915,  chs.  1-3. 

The  Decennial  Census  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massa- 
chusetts, 1915,  part  I,  pages  3-32. 

Enumerator's  Instruction  Booh,  Massachusetts  Cen- 
sus, 1915. 

In>structions  to  Enumerators,  United  States  Census, 
1920. 

The  Story  of  the  Census,  Bureau  of  the  Census 
(U.  S.)  1915. 


PAET  in 

SPECIAL  PEOBLEMS  CONNECTED  WITH 
FIELD  WOEK 


CHAPTER  Vn 

PUEPOSB   AND  PBEPABATION   OF  SCHEDULES  FOB 
FIELD  WOBK 

Indispensable  to  field  work,  whether  it  be  sam- 
pling or  complete  enumeration,  is  the  schedule. 
The  schedule  is  a  mechanical  device  designed  to 
objectify  the  recording  of  observations  of  compli- 
cated social  phenomena,  and  to  standardize  the 
returns  made  by  different  observers. 

There  is  an  analogy  between  the  schedules  of 
social  science  and  the  instruments  used  in  observa- 
tion and  measurement  in  the  older  sciences.  The 
telescope,  the  spectroscope  and  the  camera  used  in 
astronomy  extend  the  observational  power  of  the 
senses.  The  magnifying  power  of  the  telescope 
discloses  details  which  the  naked  eye  can  not  dis- 
cern. This  is  due  to  its  light-gathering  power 
which  uncovers  stars  too  faint  for  the  human  eye 
to  observe  unaided.  The  spectroscope,  originally 
used  for  the  determination  of  the  quality  of  light, 
is  now  used  to  measure  the  speed  of  light  and  so 
extends  the  observational  power  of  the  senses. 
By  using  a  camera  with  long  exposure,  objects  are 
brought  out  on  developing  the  photographic  plate 
which  can  not  be  seen  by  the  eye  even  through  the 

148 


SCHEDULES  FOR  FIELD  WORK         149 

telescope.  By  these  mechanical  instruments  ob- 
servation of  certain  classes  of  natural  phenomena 
(planets)  are  more  extensive  and  more  intensive. 
The  range  of  observation  as  well  as  the  detail 
observed  is  increased. 

THE  SCHEDULE  A  MECHANICAL  AID  TO  OBSEBVATIOK 

By  using  a  schedule  the  student  of  social  phe- 
nomena can  extend  his  powers  of  observation 
enormously  over  the  observer  not  so  equipped. 
The  person  who  goes  on  a  tour  of  inspection  of 
the  congested  quarters  of  a  city  depending  upon 
his  powers  of  memory  to  report  faithfully  and  ob- 
jectively his  impressions  of  the  dirty  streets,  the 
crowded  tenements,  the  shabby  moving  throngs 
and  the  excited  and  anaemic  children,  will  not  be 
likely  to  return  with  impressions  that  can  be 
stated  in  precise  language.  On  the  other  hand 
the  housing  investigator  supplied  with  standard 
housing  schedules  observes  the  social  facts  in  a 
methodical  manner,  and  secures  answers  to  in- 
quiries that  are  arranged  in  a  systematic  fashion, 
so  that  he  returns  with  records  of  observations 
that  range  over  a  large  field  of  facts  including  re- 
pair, sanitation,  lighting,  ventilation,  fire-proof- 
ing and  protection,  and  overcrowding,  as  well  as 
extent  into  a  detailed  analysis  of  each  group  of 
facts  and  conditions.  In  this  way  the  observa- 
tion of  social  conditions  is  made  more  extensive  as 
well  as  intensive  and  results  are  had  that  can  be 
stated  in  language  of  some  precision. 


STREET                                                                  NO.                           BLK. 

BUILDING                          •  * 

Front-Rear-Brick-Frame       Stories-Cel.-Base.- Attic       Ap'ts.  per  floor 
STORES 

None     No.               Kind               Cleanline«s               Food   exposed 
BASEMENT 

(B.F )      Distance  from  floor  to  ceiling        Light     Damp     Occupied 

FLOOR 

WALLS 

CEILINGS 

STAIRS 

KATJ.S 

AND 
STAIRS 

Cl'n 

Rep. 

Need 
P.  or 
W. 

Rep. 

Need 
P.  or 
W. 

Rep. 

Cl'n 

Rep. 

Degree 

Cellar 
Base. 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

OWNER'S  NAIIE 

AGENT'S  NAME 

REMARKS 

Symbols    are    V.-Yes.     O.-No.     G.-Good.     F.-Pair.     B.-Bad.     Dk.-Dark. 

150 


Figure  7.    Housing  Schedule 


WD. 


DATE 


INSPECTOR 


C.  B.  1.  2.  3.  4.  6.  6.  A. 


ToUl 


1907—  1907+ 


Boof  leaking 


Living:  at  rear 
CELLAR 


(B.F )      DiBt.  11.  to  ceiling     Light     Damp     Occupied     Cleanliness 


LIGHT 

BULKHEAD 

Win- 
dows 
to 
air 

Win- 
dows 

to 
room 

Sky- 
light 

At 

night 

Locked     Obst.     Windows     Moveable 
AIB  SHAFTS 

No.      Size      Covered      Cleanliness 
OOXJETS 

No.     Size     Paved     Repair     Drainage 
YABD 

Depth       Paved      Repair    Cleanliness 
tlKE  ESCAPES 

Kind            Adequate               to 
ASH  AND  GARBAGE  BECEPT. 

No.           Metal           Wood 

Covered    Where  kept    Emptied  how  often 
STREET  OB  ALLEY                       Nuisance 

ADDRESS 


Paved       Repair       Cleanliness 


ADDRESS 


NOTES 


D.-Dirtj. 


House  Card  (front  of  form). 


151 


APAETMENT 

0 

1 

be 

II 

^1 

3 

NO.  ROOMS 
IN  VIOLA- 
TION OF 
SECTION  70 

FIXTURES  IN 
APARTMENT 

With 
windows 

II 

d 

•a 

ii 

1 

WATER 
CLOSET 

-•< 

1 

s 

K 

H 

6. 

13 

AS 
1 

It 

S 
5 

d 

3 

VENTI 
LATION 

PI 

1 

,d 

tSINK 

Loc.  if  not  in  apt.     Iron     Enameled     Enclosed     W-g.  ad. 

152 


Figure  7.     Housing  Schedule — 


i 

a 
1 
5 

2 

g 

« 

u 

RENT 

OCCUPANTS 

m  P. 

^2 

1 

o 

J2; 

<3 

o 

1^ 

1 

6 

+ 

1-1 

6 

i 

3 

VENTILATION 

"3 

(BrC 

o 

O  a 

L 

.2.9 

> 

To 

air 

To 
rm. 

To 

sft. 

To 
hall 

73 

s 

II 

o 

Repair     Wd.-wk.   in  rep.          Clean         Rusted          Odor 

Form  I 

House  Card   (back  of  form) 


153 


154     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

Not  only  do  the  mechanical  instruments  of  ob- 
servation and  measurement  used  in  science  make 
for  an  extension  of  the  observational  powers  of 
the  senses,  they  also  facilitate  measurement  by 
placing  comparison  on  a  quantitative  instead  of 
on  a  qualitative  basis.  Thus  differences  between 
phenomena  are  susceptible  of  measurement  in  ob- 
jective terms.  Color  differences  are  found  to  be 
measureable  in  terms  of  the  number  of  light  vi- 
brations and  in  this  way  qualitative  differences 
are  expressed  quantitatively.  In  so  far  as  quan- 
titative modes  of  expressing  qualitative  differ- 
ences are  possible,  observation  becomes  objective 
and  the  personal  bias  or  partiality  of  the  student 
is  minimized  so  that  the  records  of  his  observation 
become  as  true  for  any  other  human  mind  as  for 
his  own  thus  taking  on  the  element  of  universality 
which  characterizes  all  true  science. 

It  used  to  be  frequent  in  making  entries  on  a 
schedule  to  qualify  the  description  of  a  certain 
fact  by  qualitative  terms.  Thus  the  condition  of 
repair  was  said  to  be  good,  fair,  or  bad.  The 
present  emphasis  in  social  studies  is  all  against 
the  use  of  qualitative  terms  in  recording  the  ob- 
server's impressions  of  a  social  fact.  Miss 
Ealph  ^^  makes  it  a  rule  for  record  keeping  that 
the  use  of  terms  which  express  judgments  such  as 
'*good,"  **bad,''  ** doing  well,''  etc.,  and  of  such 
indefinite  terms  as  *  incorrigible, "  *' immoral," 
** laborer,"  etc.,  should  be  avoided.    In  the  inves- 

56  Ealph,  G.  S.,  op.  cit.,  p.  116. 


SCHEDULES  FOR  FIELD  WORK         155 

tigation  of  factory  conditions,  for  example,  instead 
of  reporting  that  the  air,  lighting,  or  noise  is 
*'good,''  **fair"  or  **bad,''  the  student's  report 
on  the  condition  of  the  air  is  given  in  terms  of 
temperature  and  humidity,  of  ventilation  and  room 
space,  of  dust  and  fumes,  of  the  presence  of  an 
exhaust  system,  or  of  smells.  In  this  way  objec- 
tive rather  than  subjective  terms  are  used,  and 
the  schedule  which  assists  the  investigator  to  re- 
cord his  observations  in  these  terms  becomes  a 
device  which  permits  precise  expression.  In  fact, 
the  measurement  by  the  schedule  of  qualitative 
social  differences  in  quantitative  terms  is  so  im- 
portant that  we  shall  consider  this  matter  again  in 
greater  detail. 

One  other  service  the  mechanical  instrument  of 
observation  performs  for  science.  This  is  the 
isolation  of  one  element  at  a  time.  It  is  hardly 
necessary  to  elaborate  upon  the  way  in  which  the 
telescope  and  the  camera  isolate  one  factor  at  a 
time  by  concentrated  attention  upon  it.  In  the 
case  of  the  schedule  much  the  same  service  is  per- 
formed for  social  science.  In  housing  investiga- 
tions the  schedules  differ  from  those  used  in 
budget  and  wage  studies,  but  in  the  housing  inves- 
tigation the  attention  of  the  student  is  still  further 
concentrated  upon  one  element  in  the  situation  at 
a  time.  By  using  a  ^4ot  card''  in  which  the  phys- 
ical conditions  of  the  building  such  as  environ 
ment,  structure,  repair,  and  sanitary  conditions 
are  treated  in  some  detail  the  observer  is  assisted 


156     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

in  isolating  these  basic  facts  from  the  general 
mass  of  impressions,  relating  to  the  more  dis- 
tinctly social  aspects  snch  as  the  number,  ages, 
and  relationships  of  occupants,  interior  cleanli- 
ness, light,  ventilation,  and  general  sanitary  pro- 
visions. These  latter  are  usually  entered  on  a 
separate  ** house  card.'' 

To  sum  up  the  principles  of  scientific  observa- 
tion which  the  schedule  makes  possible : 

(1)  The  schedule  objectifies  the  observation  of 
complicated  social  phenomena. 

(2)  The  schedule  standardizes  the  recording  of 
unbiased  observations  made  by  different  students. 

(3)  The  schedule  is  a  scientific  instrument  of 
observation  and  measurement  because : 

(a)  It  extends  the  observational  power 
of  the  senses  by  making  observation  both 
more  extensive  and  more  intensive. 

(b)  It  makes  possible  measurement  in 
quantitative  rather  than  qualitative  terms. 

(c)  It  isolates  one  element  at  a  time  so 
that  the  observer  may  concentrate  his  at- 
tention upon  it. 

THE   FORM   OF   THE   SCHEDULE 

The  form  of  the  schedule  is  important  as  it  fur- 
nishes mechanical  aids  to  the  eye  in  systematically 
recording  observations  of  social  phenomena. 
Considerable  variety  is  found  in  the  form  taken 
by  schedules  used  in  different  types  of  social  and 
industrial  investigation. 


SCHEDULES  FOR  FIELD  WORK         157 

(1)  Size.  The  schedule  should  be  of  conveni- 
ent size  to  slip  into  the  pocket  of  the  field  worker 
without  folding  or  crushing.  Many  schedules  are 
now  made  5x8  inches.  This  size  is  not  only  con- 
venient for  handling  in  the  field  but  it  is  also  a 
standard  size  for  filing  purposes.  If  a  larger 
schedule  is  necessary,  it  is  recommended  that  the 
regulation  correspondence  size  8I/2  ^  H  inches  be 
used.  Filing  devices  are  ordinarily  constructeci 
to  file  this  size  of  card  conveniently. 

(2)  Material.  A  cardboard  heavy  enough  to 
write  easily  upon  when  held  in  the  hand  is  the 
best  material  out  of  which  to  make  the  schedule. 
The  surface  should  be  smooth  and  hard  enough  to 
write  upon  with  pen  and  ink. 

(3)  Color.  In  an  investigation  where  several 
different  inquiries  need  to  be  made,  such  for  ex- 
ample as  into  the  standard  of  living,  several 
schedules  are  used  and  it  is  convenient  to  have 
the  different  schedules  of  different  colors,  white, 
yellow,  blue,  pink,  etc.  This  color  device  simpli- 
fies the  task  of  editing,  classifying  and  filing,  and 
aids  the  eye  to  avoid  the  confusion  that  results 
when  handling  schedules  used  for  different  pur- 
poses but  of  simil'  r  appearance. 

(4)  Euling.  It  is  always  desirable  to  separate 
the  upper  portion  or  heading  of  the  schedule  from 
the  body.  This  can  be  conveniently  done  by  a 
heavy  line  ruled  horizontally  across  the  top  and 
far  enough  from  the  upper  edge  to  leave  sufficient 
space  for  the  full  identification  data  which  should 


DETROIT  HOUSING  COMMISSION 

MULTIPLE  HOUSE  CARD 


STREIiT 

No.. 

WAI 

tD 

ENVIEON'T 

YARD 

BUILDING 

CELLAR- 

LOT 

Size       X 

HYD'T 

WF.T.T. 

Size       X 

ACCESS 

Size     X 

Loc'n 

FROM 

Corner 

Material 

Material 

St    Yd    Intr 

Through 

Earth    Brick 

Condn. 

Frame  Cem't 

Use 

%  Cov'd 

Cobble    Flag 

Veneer  Br'k 

Business 

Concrete 

S'ply 

Stone 

Storg.    Dwlg. 

STBEET 

Rough   Brkn. 

Pump 

Stories-No. 

Material 

ADN 

Cov'd 

At.  Bas.  Cel. 

Floor 

Earth  Wood 

Drainage 

Earth   Wood 

Macadam 

Sewer    Surf. 

Repair  GFB 

Brick    Cem't 

Asphalt 

Adequate 

DRAIN 

Brick    Stone 

Clean   CDF 

Nearest  Bldgs. 

Walls  Ceiling 

«rworpwworii 

Repair  G  P  B 

Dampness 

Free  Obstr'd 

Dist. 

Mat'l 

Clean   GDP 

Dry   Damp 

N 

ODF    ODF 

Sewer 

Wet  Water 

s 

RECEPTA- 

E 

Dampness 

SIDEWALK 

Rub'sh   FSM 

CLES 

W 

Dry  Damp 

Material 

Clean   CDF 

Garbage 

Ash 

Wet  Water 

Earth   Wood 

Mat'l 

Apts.  per  Fir. 

Brick    Stone 

CESSPOOL 

Adeq. 

0            B 

VentUation 

Oem't  Conc't 

Location 

Suitable 

1             4 

Windows 

Repair  G  P  B 
Clean   ODF 

Condition 

Nuisance 

2  5 

3  8 

Area    grat'gff 
Adeq.    None 

AIiLEY 

WATER 

PRIVIES 

Light   LGD 

Paved 

CLOSETS 

Total  Apti. 

Clean   ODF 

Material 

None     No. 
No.  Comp'ts 

None    No. 

Bit.  for  Ten't 

Repair  GFB 

Condition 

No.  Seats 
No.  Fms.  Use 

STORES 

Rub'sh  FSM 

Clean  ODF 

In  Bldg. 
Outside 

No.        Loc'n 

LIVING  RMS. 

HOUSE 
FACES 

Clean   ODF 
Repair  G  F  B 

ODF 
GFB 
Vault 

Earth    Wood 
Brick    Crock 

Kind 

No.    Height 
Above    grade 
Area 

Street   Alley 

Sat'd  W'd'k 

Entire  width 

Back  Yard 

Type-LH  SH 
Pan  Wo   OW 

Nuis.    Saloon 
Fire  Peril 

Drained 

ANIMALS    on 
PREMISES 
Kind 

SJ  TW  Wd 
Flush 
Tank    Valvp 

Tight 

Leech' g 
Full  Overfl'g 

OTHER 
BLDGS. 

PLUMBING 
LINES 

No. 

±  all  XL.       VcliVC 

Adeq. 
Inclosed 

Sewer 

Character 

Waste 

Soil 

Where 

Con'ctd 
Flush 

Material 
Size 

Exposed 
Mat'l 

Trapped 

Dry  Earth 

Purpose 

Diam. 

Nuisance 

Frost  Proof 

Disfd.    Nuis. 

Condition 

Op'ngs 

Figure  8.    Multiple 


158 


/MULTIPUI,  TENEMENTS 
VAND  DOUBLE  HOUSESJ 


DATE IHTESTIGATOR . 


BASEMENT 


HOUSE  DBN. 

Expd.  Diam. 
Iron  Earthw. 
Brick 

Free  Obstr'd 
Patchd.  Snd. 
Opengs.  noted 

HOUSE  TRAP 
Location 
Acces'l  Cvd. 

FRESH  AIR 
INLET 

Ends  where 

Free   Choked 

WATER 

CLOSETS 

None     No. 
Type 

Flush  Adeq. 
Inc.  Tp.  Vnt. 
Clean  CDF 
Repair  G  F  B 

W.O.  CMPTS. 
None     No. 
Clean   CDF 
Repair  G  F  B 
Light   LGD 
Ventilation 
Outer  air 
Yent.    shaft 
Open   cellar 


No.     Mafl 
Inc.  Tp.  Vnt. 
Clean   CFD 
Repair  G  F  B 


HALLS  AND  STAIRS 


Enter 

from 

street 

Fir. 

Light 

Vnt. 

Clean 

Rpr. 

CB 

Front 

door 

locked 

1 

2 

Skylt. 

3 

Vntg. 

4 

5 

WATER 
CLOSETS 

None    .  No. . 

Loc'n 

Type 

Flush 

Adeq. 

Inclosed 
Trapped 
Ventil'd 

Cl'n   GDP 
Rep.   GFB 
W.  CLOS. 
COMP'TS 

Lgt.    LGD 
Ventlated 


Cl'n  CDF 
Rep.  GFB 
FIRE  ESC. 
Where 


Cond'n 


SINKS 

HYDR'TS 

No. 

Loc'n 

Mat'l 

Inclosed 

Trapped 

Vented 

Cl'n   CDF 

Rep.  GFB 

URINALS — ^No. 

Where 

Cond'n 

ROOF 

PIPES  ABV. 

Access 

Soil   Waste 

Scuttle 

Vent 

Bulkh'd 

Rain  Ldr. 

Ladder 

Material 

Stairs 

Locked 

Obstr'd 

Repair 

Tight 

Leaking 

Rep.  GFB 

Used  as 
•waste    pp. 

Discharges 

Rubbish 

how 

F  S  M 

MISCELLANEOUS 


ASSESSED 

VALUATION 
$    

RENT 
All   Apts.   $ .  .  . 

Stores    

Stable    

Garage    


No.  Vacant  Apts. 
No.  Vacant  Riooms 


Janitor  on  Premises 


WATER  SUPPLY 
Hydrants        No. 

Yard  Halls  Apts. 

Condition 
WeUs  No. 

Gov '  d        Pump 

Where 

Condition 


Abbreviations:  G. 
F.B.,  Good,  Fair, 
Bad;  C.D.F.,  Clean, 
Dirty.  Filthy;  F.S. 
M.,  Free,  Some, 
Much;  A.D.N.,  Ade- 
quate, Deficient, 
None;  L.G.D..  Light. 
Gloomy,  Dark;  WW. 
or  P„  Whitewash  or 
Paint;  L.H.,  S.H., 
Wo.,  OW.,  SJ.,  TW., 
Wd.,  Long  hopper. 
Short  hopper,  Wash- 
out. Offset  Washout, 
Siphon  Jet,  Tidal 
Wave.  Washdown; 
Y,   Yes;   O,  No. 


See  over. 


House  Card. 


159 


General  Condition  and  Aspect 


DIAGRAM  OF  PEEMISES 
Front— N.  E.  S.  W. 


Moral  Surroundings  and  Influences 


Special  Dangers  or  Conditions 


General  Bemarks  or  Beconuuendations 


Owner 


Address 


Agent 


Photograph  Becommended  to  Show 


Scale Ft.  to  the  Sqnare. 

Indicate    fencea,    walls,    buildings, 
etc.,  on  l.>t  boundaries. 


Figure  8.     Multiple  House  Card. 
160 


SCHEDULES  FOR  FIELD  WORK         161 

appear  therein.  Below,  in  the  body  of  the  sched- 
ule, it  is  of  assistance  to  the  eye  of  the  field  worker 
in  recording  his  observations  and  to  the  editor  in 
checking  the  returns  to  have  light  ruled  horizontal 
lines  separating  the  main  categories  of  the  analy- 
sis. 

(5)  Spacing.  Do  not  crowd  the  chief  catego- 
ries used  as  main  headings  in  the  body  or  analysis 
of  the  schedule.  Have  these  titles  sufficiently  sep- 
arated so  that  they  stand  out  conspicuously,  other- 
wise they  defeat  the  purpose  of  being  an  aid  to  the 
eye. 

(6)  T^^ing.  In  accordance  with  the  impor- 
tance of  a  category  or  title  use  bold  or  small  face 
type.  The  heavier  letters  aid  the  eye  in  locating 
the  particular  spot  in  the  schedule  at  which  a 
certain  entry  is  to  be  made.  Compare  figures  1 
and  2.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  ordinary 
5x8  inch  schedule  contains  a  large  number  of  in- 
quiries and  mechanical  aids  to  the  eye  such  as 
these  enumerated  which  are  of  great  assistance  to 
the  field  worker  and  the  editor. 

A  combination  of  the  aforementioned  mechani- 
cal aids  to  the  eye  is  often  advantageous  and  is 
accomplished  by  using  a  chart  form.  According 
to  this  method  the  titles  or  main  categories  in  the 
inquiry  are  boxed  in  by  vertical  and  horizontal 
lines  much  as  the  captions  in  a  statistical  table  are 
presented.  It  is  sometimes  advantageous  also  to 
combine  these  box  headings  with  captions  ar- 
ranged in  the  stub  in  vertical  column.    A  **  house 


162     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

card^*  which  follows  this  plan  is  given  in  figure  7. 
In  the  center  of  the  schedule  appear  boxed  head- 
ings in  a  row  from  left  to  right,  ^' floor/'  '* walls,'' 
** ceilings,"  ** stairs,"  and  *4ight."  Under  each 
of  these  main  categories  are  two  or  more  sub- 
captions  arranged  in  a  row  on  the  line  below.  At 
the  left  in  a  column  reading  down  vertically  are 
given  a  series  of  stub  captions.  In  this  way  it  is 
possible  for  the  field  worker  to  classify  his  obser- 
vations systematically  as  he  records  them.  An- 
other example  of  chart  form  is  shown  in  the  *^  mul- 
tiple house  card, ' '  figure  8.  The  third  example  is 
the  infant  mortality  schedule  used  by  the  Chil- 
dren's Bureau  and  shown  in  figure  4.  The  chart 
form  of  the  schedule  may  be  improved  by  the  use 
of  light  or  heavy  or  colored  rulings.  It  is  often 
convenient  to  rule  horizontally  at  equal  intervals 
and  provide  marginal  numbers  running  serially 
from  top  to  bottom. 

Inquiries  are  sometimes  advantageously  pre- 
sented in  an  outline  form  with  main  headings  and 
sub-headings  rather  than  in  a  chart  form.  A 
simple  example  of  this  method  of  schedule  struc- 
ture is  given  in  the  ^'lot  card,"  figures  1  and  2. 
The  infant  mortality  schedule  of  the  Children's 
Bureau  is  a  much  more  elaborate  example  of  the 
outline  form.  In  this  connection  the  student 
should  compare  **lot  card"  figure  1  with  ^'lot 
card ' '  figure  2  and  note  how  the  bold  faced  type  of 
the  main  inquiries  on  **lot  card"  figure  1  as  com- 
pared with  *4ot  card"  figure  2,  improve  the  clar- 


SCHEDULES  FOR  FIELD  WORK         163 

ity  of  the  schedule  and  assist  the  field  worker  in 
recording  his  observations  and  the  editor  in  tran- 
scribing and  tabulating. 

In  the  fields  of  social  investigation,  where  the 
raw  material  has  been  well  worked  over  by  nu- 
merous field  studies,  most  of  the  essential  factors 
have  been  recognized,  and  schedules  itemizing  the 
elements  in  great  detail,  such  as  given  in  figures  1 
to  8  inclusive  have  been  devised;  but  in  fields  of 
study  where  many  of  the  elements  are  as  yet  un- 
known, such  detailed  analysis  is  not  possible.  In 
all  such  cases  a  questionnuire  form,  which  states 
the  inquiry  as  a  definite  challenge  to  the  resource- 
fulness and  ingenuity  of  the  field  worker,  will  be 
found  useful.  The  home  economics  committee  of 
the  New  York  Charity  Organization  Society  has 
made  use  of  suggestive  questions  such  as  the  fol- 
lowing concerning  budget  readjustments  in  the 
families  of  their  clients. 

* '  Is  the  family  in  the  same  rooms  as  last  year  ?  If  so 
is  the  rent  the  same?  If  not,  was  the  change  made  in 
order  to  reduce  rent?  to  accommodate  lodgers? 

What  fuel  economies  are  being  practiced  I  Are  fewer 
rooms  being  heated  ?  Is  the  fire  kept  for  a  smaller  num- 
ber of  hours  ?  Is  kerosene  being  substituted  for  coal  or 
gas  for  heating  or  lighting  ? 

Is  less  milk  being  purchased?  less  meat?  fewer  vege- 
tables? Are  less  expensive  foods  being  used  in  larger 
quantities  than  previously  (butter  substitutes,  dried 
beans,  etc.) 

Are  pushcarts,  special  bargain  stores,  cooperative 
stores  and  other  economical  buying  places  iDeing  patron- 


164     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

ized  more  frequently  ?     Is  more  time  being  used  in  seek- 
ing for  especially  low  prices  ? 

Have  you  had  difficulty  in  affording  as  much  clothing 
as  formerly  ?  "Were  you  fortunate  enough  to  have  cloth- 
ing left  over  from  last  year?  What  special  clothing 
economies  have  you  practiced? 

Has  there  been  more  sickness  (especially  of  children) 
than  usual? 

Has  paid  amusement  been  lessened?  Are  fewer  news- 
papers and  magazines  being  purchased  ? 

Has  it  proven  possible  to  keep  up  insurance?  to  take 
out  new  insurance?  to  save  money  in  other  ways?" 

Questions  illustrating  the  same  principles  form 
part  of  a  questionnaire  sent  by  the  Children's 
Bureau  ^"^  to  judges  of  juvenile  courts  or  courts 
hearing  juvenile  cases,  see  figure  9. 

ARRANGEMENT  OP  INQUIRIES 

Turning  now  from  a  consideration  of  the  prin- 
ciples involved  in  selecting  the  form  of  the  sched-> 
ule  let  us  consider  the  arrangement  of  the  inqui- 
ms  printed  upon  it.  It  goes  without  saying  that 
the  elementary  principles  of  uniformity  and 
standardization  require  that  schedules  be  printed 
in  bulk  in  identical  form  and  arrangement.  The 
arrangement  of  inquiries  on  a  schedule  falls  into 
two  divisions:  first,  the  heading  or  identification 
inquiries  arranged  across  the  top ;  and  second,  the 

57  Courts  in  the  United  States  Hearing  Children's  Cases,  by 
Evelina  Belden,  U.  S.  Dep't.  of  Labor,  Children's  Bureau,  Bur. 
Pub.  No.  65,  pp.  103-104. 


SCHEDULE  FOR  FIELD  WORK 

UNITED  STATES  DEPARTMENT  OF  LABOR,  CHILDREN'S  BUREAU, 
WASHINGTON. 

Juvenile  Courts  or  Courts  Hbaeinq  Juvenile  Casks 

Questionnaire  to  be  answered  by  judge. 

(We  will  welcome  details   about  your  court.     If  more  space  is  desirad 
please  use  an  additional  sheet.) 

Official  name  of  court 

City,  town,  or  village District 

County State ,  . 

I.  Jurisdiction 

1.  Is  there  a  epecial  judge  giving  his  whole  time  to  children's  cases  1 

2.  Is  there  a  woman  referee  to  assist  the  judge  in  girls'  cases  ? 

8.  Indicate  by  a  check  which  of  the  following  classes  of  cases  were  heard 

in  your  juvenile  sessions  during  your  last  fiscal  year: 

(a)  Delinquent  children. 

ib)  Neglected  children. 

(c)  Destitute  or  dependent. 

(d)  Truant  children. 

(e)  Questions  of  adoption. 
(/)  Other  children  (specify). 
(g)  Child  labor. 

(h)   Nonsupport  or  desertion. 

(i)   Contributing  to  neglect  or  delinquency. 

(;■)    Divorce  or  alimony. 

(k)    Mothers'  pensions. 

(O   Other  adult  (specify). 

4.  Is  there  any  effort  being  made  in  your  community  to  combine  in  one 
court  all  family  and  child  problems  ? 

6.  Does  your  court  have  an  advisory  board  of  citizens  ? 

If  BO,  how  is  this  board  secured  ? What  are  its  duties  ? 

II.  Probation  OrFiCEES. 

1.  How  many  paid  probation  officers  are  there  who  give  full  time  to  chil- 

dren's   cases:      (a)    Men? (&)   Women? 

2.  Are  officers  appointed  by   (a)   civil  service  examination  1 

(b)  The  judge? (c)    Other  method  of  examination   or 

appointment  ? Is  the  examination  written,   oral,   or 

both  ?    

8.  How  long  is  the  term  of  office  ? 

Are  officers  paid  yearly  salaries  ? How  much  1 

If  not  yearly  salaries,  how  are  they  paid  and  how  much? 

4.  Are  there  other  persons  officially  authorized  to  make  investigations  or  do 

probation   work   tor    the    court? (a)    Paid   probation 

officers  who  give  part  time  ? (&)   Volunteers  ?.......... 

(c)  Agents  from  private  societies? (d)    Public  officials 

such     as     sheriff,     truant     officer,     public     relief     agent,     police,     etc. 
(specify)  ?    

5.  Does    the    court    require    regular    reports    of    the    child's    progress    from 

special  or  volunteer  officers  ? 

6.  Are  children  placed  on  probation  to  the  judge  ? 

Figure  9.     Portion,  of  a  questionnaire  on  juvenile  court 

investigation. 

165 


166     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

body  or  analysis  which  includes  the  bulk  of  the 
inquiries. 

Headings  or  identification  should  be  complete. 
That  is  to  say,  all  of  the  information  required  to 
identify  the  particular  house,  family,  individual  or 
other  unit  described  upon  the  schedule,  should  be 
provided  for  by  proper  inquiries,  such  as  name, 
address,  location,  age,  sex  or  other  facts  pertain-' 
ing  to  the  exclusive  nature  of  the  particular  inves- 
tigation under  consideration.  It  is  also  desirable 
to  provide  a  space  in  the  heading  for  the  date 
when  the  schedule  was  tilled  and  the  name  of  the 
field  worker  or  agent.  These  identification  in- 
quiries should  be  not  only  complete  but  concise. 
That  is  to  say,  superfluous  inquiries,  which  un- 
necessarily pad  the  number  of  subordinate  items 
in  the  heading  and  fill  up  space  without  adding 
anything  vital  to  the  identification  of  this  particu- 
lar individual  or  unit  of  study,  should  be  avoided. 
The  chief  purpose  of  the  heading  part  of  the  in- 
quiry is  to  supply  the  basis  for  identification  in 
filing  and  for  ready  reference  or  cross  indexing 
purposes. 

The  body  or  analysis,  which  follows  directly 
under  the  heading  of  the  schedule,  contains  the 
great  bulk  of  inquiries.  Since  this  portion  of  the 
schedule  is  for  an  analytical  record  of  the  main 
characteristics  of  the  unit  or  individual  investi- 
gated, the  inquiries  should  be  arranged  in  logical 
order.  In  general  the  inquiries  in  the  body  or 
analysis  of  the  schedule  should  be  (1)  extensive. 


SCHEDULES  FOR  FIELD  WORK         167 

that  is,  complete  as  regards  the  main  and  essen- 
tial topics  of  investigation;  (2)  intensive,  that  is, 
sufficient  detail  of  analysis  under  the  main  topics 
of  inquiry  to  round  them  out  but  avoiding  super- 
fluous detail.  Here  again  the  student  should  ex- 
amine the  infant  mortality  schedule,  which  shows 
a  combination  of  chart  and  outline  form  with  main 
topics  analyzed  into  their  elements.  It  is  well  to 
number  all  inquiries  upon  the  schedule  serially, 
beginning  with  the  first  inquiry  of  the  heading  and 
concluding  with  the  last  inquiry  in  the  body. 

CONTENT  AND  PHEASING  OF   INQUIRIES:      DEFINITION 
OF   UNITS 

It  is  important  to  use  great  care  in  determining 
the  content  of  inquiries.  The  units  and  terms 
used  in  inquiries  should  be  thoroughly  understood 
and  defined  before  hand  in  order  that  ambiguous 
meanings  may  be  avoided.  If  the  term  ^^ price''  is 
used,  its  meaning  should  be  understood.  For  ex- 
ample, retail  or  wholesale  price  I  Price  at  what 
place?  Under'  what  conditions  of  sale?  To 
whom?  Price  of  what  grade  of  commodity?  On 
what  market!  Are  the  price  data  extant?  Will 
they  continue  to  be  available?  Are  prices  con- 
tract, import,  or  market  prices  ?  The  term  *  *  work- 
ing-class'' upon  analysis  appears  to  be  very  gen- 
eral and  quite  vague,  yet  the  term  is  frequently 
used  in  social-economic  investigations.  Bowley,^® 
in  studying  working-class  families  excludes  the  oc- 

58  Livelihood  and  Poverty. 


168     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

CTipants  of  houses  who  are  (1)  Professional,  com- 
mercial, or  living  on  property  income;  (2)  Clerks, 
travellers,  teachers,  shop  managers,  and  small 
employers;  (3)  Shop  assistants,  except  where 
working  for  butchers  or  grocers. 

Secrist  ^^  has  contributed  to  our  knowledge  of 
the  precise  nature  of  statistical  units  of  measure- 
ment.    He  says: 

'*If  our  problem  were  simply  to  enumerate  the 
number  of  manufacturing  establishments  in  a 
given  district,  the  definition  of  this  unit  would  ob- 
viously be  determined  by  the  following  conditions : 
(a)  The  meaning  of  manufacturing  as  distinct 
from  trading,  mercantile,  transporting,  agricul- 
tural, etc.,  pursuits,  (b)  The  meaning  of  an  es- 
tablishment. The  definitions  employed  will  de- 
pend upon  the  purpose  in  mind  in  using  them. 
If  it  is  to  learn  the  number  of  such  enterprises 
when  the  criterion  of  individuality  is  ownership, 
one  condition  maintains;  if  the  criteria  are  in- 
dependent existence  respecting  the  processes  in- 
volved and  the  management  over  them,  independ- 
ence respecting  housing  conditions  or  contiguity, 
independence  respecting  relative  location,  etc., 
then  other  conditions  as  surely  maintain.  In  the 
first  case  the  fact  of  ownership  determines  the 
fact  of  enumeration;  in  the  other  cases,  respec- 
tively, independent  processes  through  which  man- 
ufactured goods  pass  while  under  one  manage- 
ment or  ownership,  the  fact  of  being  contiguous  or 

59  Introduction  to  Statistical  Methods,  pp.  61-2. 


SCHEDULES  FOR  FIELD  WORK         169 

under  one  roof,  the  fact  of  being  located  in  the 
same  political  or  economic  jurisdiction.  In  these 
cases  it  is  not  enough  to  maintain  that  an  establish- 
ment is  an  establishment ;  the  identity,  and  there- 
fore the  number  to  be  enumerated,  depends  upon 
the  criteria  which  are  set  up.  The  statistical 
process  of  grouping  and  combining  is  impossible 
unless  the  units  enumerated  are  identical  in  the 
particulars  chosen  as  a  basis  for  enumeration." 

In  discussing  measures  of  capacity,  Florence  ^^ 
shows  how  the  output  rate  which  is  usually 
adopted  as  a  measure  of  capacity  in  the  investiga- 
tion of  industrial  fatigue  may  be  an  equivocal 
term.  He  says  ^  *  even  when  the  type  of  worker  is 
constant  or  when  the  output  of  exactly  the  same 
workers  is  studied  throughout,  certain  working 
conditions  are  liable  by  their  inconsistency  to  ren- 
der the  output  an  ambiguous  measure  of  capac- 
ity.'' Conditions  may  not  be  ready  for  work  to 
take  place.  For  example,  the  worker  may  be 
waiting  for  his  maj^erial  to  be  brought  to  him  or 
for  his  machine  to  be  repaired  or  for  the  power  to 
be  connected  with  his  machine.  ^ 

As  an  example  of  an  ambiguous  statement  of  an 
inquiry  consider  the  case  of  a  questionnaire  sent 
to  selected  employers  throughout  Massachusetts 
by  the  State  Board  of  Labor  and  Industries  in 
1915.     The  inquiries  were  under  three  main  top- 

60  Florence,  P.  S. — "The  Use  of  FactorJ'  Statistics  in  the  Investi- 
gation of  Industrial  Relations,"  Col.  Univ.,  Studies  in  Hist.,  Eco. 
and  Pub.  Law,  vol.  81,  No.  3,  p.  46. 


170     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

ics.  The  question  which  caused  difficulty  asked 
for  the  **  Largest  number  employed  at  any  one 
time  during  the  year  on  approximate  date. ' '  The 
aim  of  this  question  was  to  obtain  from  each  em- 
ployer the  largest  number  employed  at  any  one 
time  during  the  year.  Unfortunately  the  two 
main  topics  following  the  one  aforementioned  re- 
lated to  the  number  employed  on  full  or  part  time 
upon  November  1st  of  the  year.  In  answering 
the  first  main  inquiry  fully  half  of  the  employers 
gave  the  number  employed  on  November  1st,  thus 
simply  duplicating  figures  given  in  the  other  col- 
umns. 

Mitchell  ^^  graphically  describes  the  difficulties 
encountered  by  the  investigator  of  prices,  *'We 
commonly  speak  of  the  wholesale  price  of  articles 
like  pig  iron,  cotton,  or  beef  as  if  there  were  only 
one  unambiguous  price  for  any  one  thing  on  a 
given  day,  however  this  price  may  vary  from  one 
day  to  another.  In  fact  there  are  many  different 
prices  for  every  great  staple  on  every  day  it  is 
dealt  in,  and  most  of  these  differences  are  of 
the  sort  that  tend  to  maintain  themselves  even 
when  markets  are  highly  organized  and  competi- 
tion is  keen.  Of  course  varying  grades  command 
varying  prices,  and  so  as  a  rule  do  large  lots  and 
small  lots ;  for  the  same  grade  in  the  same  quanti- 
ties, different  prices  are  paid  by  the  manufacturer, 

61  Index  Numbers  of  Wholesale  Prices  in  the  United  States 
and  Foreign  Countries,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics,  Bui. 
179,  1915,  pp.  27-28. 


SCHEDULES  FOR  FIELD  WORK  171 

jobber,  and  local  buyer ;  in  different  localities  the 
prices  paid  by  these  various  dealers  are  not  the 
same;  even  in  the  same  locality  different  dealers 
of  the  same  class  do  not  all  pay  the  same  price  to" 
every  one  from  whom  they  buy  the  same  grade  in 
the  same  quantity  on  the  same  day.  To  find  what 
really  was  the  price  of  cotton,  for  example,  on 
February  1,  1915,  would  require  an  elaborate  in- 
vestigation, and  would  result  in  showing  a  multi- 
tude of  different  prices  covering  a  considerable 
range. 

*'Now  the  field  worker  collecting  data  for  an 
index  number  must  select  from  among  all  these 
different  prices  for  each  of  his  commodities  the 
one  or  the  few  series  of  quotations  that  make  the 
most  representative  sample  of  the  whole.  He 
must  find  the  most  reliable  source  of  information, 
the  most  representative  market,  the  most  typical 
brands  or  grades,  and  the  class  of  dealers  who 
stand  in  the  most  influential  position.  He  must 
have  sufficient  technical  knowledge  to  be  sure  that 
his  quotations  are  for  uniform  qualities,  or  to 
make  the  necessary  adjustments  if  changes  in 
quality  have  occurred  in  the  markets  and  require 
recognition  in  the  statistical  office.  He  must  be 
able  to  recognize  anything  suspicious  in  the  data 
offered  him  and  to  get  at  the  facts.  He  must 
know  how  commodities  are  made  and  must  seek 
comparable  information  concerning  the  prices  of 
raw  materials  and  their  manufactured  products, 
concerning  articles  that  are  substituted  for  one  an- 


172     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

other,  used  in  connection  with  one  another,  or 
turned  out  as  joint  products  of  the  same  process. 
He  must  guard  against  the  pitfalls  of  cash  dis- 
counts, premiums,  rebates,  deferred  payments, 
and  allowances  of  all  sorts.  And  he  must  know 
whether  his  quotations  for  different  articles  are 
all  on  the  same  basis,  or  whether  concealed  factors 
must  be  allowed  for  in  comparing  the  prices  of 
different  articles  on  a  given  date.*' 

It  should  always  be  remembered  that  nothing 
will  come  out  of  an  investigation  that  has  not  first 
been  put  into  it  as  a  subject  for  inquiry  and  no 
data  will  be  received  unless  definitely  called  for 
on  the  schedule.  The  inquiries  should  therefore 
be  complete. 

CONTENT  AND   PHRASING  OF   INQUIRIES:      PHRASING 
OF   QUESTIONS 

After  the  investigator  has  selected  and  defined 
the  units  by  which  inquiries  are  made  upon  the 
schedule  it  is  important  to  consider  the  phrasing 
of  the  questions.  As  far  as  possible  inquiries 
should  be  corroboratory,  that  is  to  say,  questions 
which  check  one  another  are  desirable.  For  ex- 
ample, inquire  not  only  about  the  age  but  ask  for 
the  date  of  birth.  Solenberger,  in  a  study  of 
1000  homeless  men  began  by  inquiring  *^Are  you 
married?"  It  became  clear  that  answers  to  this 
inquiry  were  frequently  untruthful.  The  phras- 
ing was  changed  to  read  ^^ Where  is  your  wifeT' 
By  this  device  a  higher  percentage  of  truthful 


SCHEDULES  FOR  FIELD  WORK         173 

answers  was  obtained  because  the  informant  was 
caught  unawares.  In  framing  inquiries,  there- 
fore, it  is  often  useful  to  adopt  slant-wise  sugges- 
tions rather  than  the  direct  question. 

Inquiries  should  be  so  phrased  that  they  may  be 
answered  without  bias  by  the  informant  or  by  the 
field  worker.  It  is  not  desirable  to  arouse  the 
antagonism  of  an  informant  by  an  unnecessarily 
inquisitorial  form  of  phrasing.  One  way  of 
avoiding  bias  in  records  made  upon  a  schedule  is 
to  minimize  the  personal  equation  of  the  field 
worker  by  asking  for  facts  rather  than  opinions. 
Inquiries  should  therefore  permit  of  an  answer  in 
objective  terms,  thus  leaving  little  to  the  judgment 
of  the  field  worker.  As  an  example  of  this,  wher- 
ever possible  choose  inquiries  which  may  be  an- 
swered by  *^yes'*  or  **no''  or  by  some  number. 
By  careful  analysis  of  the  conditions  to  be  inves- 
tigated before  field  work  is  begun  it  is  possible  to 
frame  inquiries  which  may  appear  upon  the  sched- 
ule in  the  form  of  an  enumeration  of  all  possible 
answers.  In  such  a  case  the  field  worker  is  di- 
rected to  check  the  correct  answer.  This  prin- 
ciple has  been  applied  in  the  construction  of  **lot 
cards '*  shown  in  figures  1  and  2.  The  reader  will 
observe  how  the  observations  are  recorded  by  a 
simple  check  placed  over  the  word  which  cor- 
rectly describes  the  conditions.  This  plan  of  pre- 
senting inquiries  saves  time  in  addition  to  mini- 
mizing variations  in  individual  judgment.  Wher- 
ever possible  use  quantitative  terms  as  substitute 


174     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

for  qualitative.  We  have  already  mentioned  this 
principle  and  it  is  of  such  great  importance  to  sci- 
entific observation  in  field  work  that  we  must  now 
discuss  it  at  considerable  length. 

The  reader  will  note  that  on  the  **lot  cards''  the 
condition  of  repair  may  be  indicated  by  checking 
G,  F,  or  B,  in  accordance  with  his  judgment  that 
the  conditions  are  **good/'  **fair/'  or  *^bad.'' 
Such  terms  are  to  be  avoided  by  substituting  for 
them,  words  of  more  precise  meaning  and  less 
likely  to  vary  between  individuals  in  use.  For  ex- 
ample, instead  of  saying  that  the  lighting  of  a 
certain  room  was  (1)  good,  or  (2)  fair,  or  (3)  bad, 
it  would  be  better  to  record  observations  of  (1)  di- 
rect sunlight,  or  (2)  indirect  natural  light  (as 
through  another  room),  or  (3)  artificial  light.  In 
this  way  there  has  been  substituted  for  qualita- 
tive terms,  that  show  considerable  variation 
among  investigators,  a  series  of  precise  and  ob- 
jective terms  upon  which  most  observers  would 
agree.  Let  us  consider  other  examples.  Instead 
of  recording  ventilation  as  (1)  good,  or  (2)  fair, 
or  (3)  bad;  the  terms  (1)  outside  fresh  air,  or  (2) 
open  air  shaft,  or  (3)  closed  air  shaft,  or  (4) 
through  another  room,  might  be  used  to  greater 
advantage. 

In  factory  investigations  the  condition  of  the 
air  may  be  described  by  using  such  objective  terms 
as  dust  and  fumes,  exhaust  system,  smells,  ventila- 
tion, and  room  space,  and  by  such  quantitative  ex- 
pressions  as   temperature   and   humidity.    The 


SCHEDULES  FOR  FIELD  WORK         175 

adequacy  of  lighting  may  be  described  in  terms  of 
volume,  concentration,  and  glare.  The  amount  of 
noise  may  be  described  in  terms  of  volume,  irregu- 
larity, and  vibration. 

In  a  stud}^  of  the  standard  of  living  attention 
may  need  to  be  given  to  neatness  of  clothing  worn 
by  different  members  of  the  family.  It  would  not 
be  accurate  to  use  such  qualitative  terms  as 
^^neat,''  *' untidy"  or  ^^ dirty"  but  objective  terms 
in  the  use  of  which  most  observers  would  agree 
should  be  used.  These  might  be  ^^ spotted," 
'  ^  dusty, "  *  *  torn, "  *  *  worn, "  *  *  patched, "  *  ^  mussed ' ' 
or  ^Svrinkled."  In  reporting  on  the  condition  of 
the  furniture  instead  of  saying  that  the  condition 
was  **good,"  *^fair"  or  *'bad,"  the  more  objective 
terms,  *  ^  scratched, "  *^worn,"  *^  dusty"  and 
^* broken"  might  be  used.  Miss  Butler  ^^  in  her 
Pittsburgh  survey  study  of  factory  conditions 
Uses  the  word  ** excellent"  to  mean  not  simply 
absence  of  dirt,  but  a  manifest  cleanliness,  occa- 
sional lanes  of  sunlight  through  the  windows,  the 
movement  of  fresh  air,  newly  whitewashed  walls 
and  ceilings,  and  a  floor  that  is  scrubbed  as  well  as 
swept.  She  used  the  term  ^*good"  to  mean  not 
newness  and  freshness,  but  daily  sweeping  and 
freedom  from  accumulations  of  dirt.  In  the  vari- 
ous ways  enumerated  in  this  paragraph  it  is  pos- 
sible for  the  scientific  student  of  social  conditions 
to  arrive  at  a  tolerable  degree  of  objectivity  in 
his  records  of  observations. 

62  Women  and  the  Trades,  p.  107. 


176     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 


QUANTITATIVE    EXPRESSION   IN   THE   SCHEDULE 

The  objective  expression  of  qualitative  condi- 
tions wliich  we  have  thus  far  described,  although 
constituting  an  advance  upon  the  use  of  qualita- 
tive terms,  falls  short  of  giving  quantitative  ex- 
pression to  the  observation  of  social  conditions. 
Commons  ^^  in  his  ** Dwelling  House  Score  Card,'' 
and  Perry  ^*  in  his  **  Measure  of  the  Manner  of 
Living*'  have  suggested  ingenious  devices  by 
which  it  is  possible  to  record  in  quantitative  form 
a  student's  observations  of  housing  conditions 
and  the  standard  of  living. 

Commons,  recognizing  the  difficulty  of  agreeing 
upon  standard  units  to  be  adopted  in  social  inves- 
tigations, found  a  helpful  analogy  in  the  proced- 
ure of  the  expert  judge  of  live  stock.  Breeders' 
associations  and  produce  exchanges  have  attained 
considerable  success  and  precision  in  standardiz- 
ing and  grading  agricultural  products  such  as 
wheat,  corn,  butter,  horses,  cows  and  pigs.  This 
has  been  done  by  the  device  of  representing  the 
perfect  example  of  a  product  by  100  points  and 
mapping  off  the  description  of  the  perfect  in- 
stance by  a  number  of  specifications  each  of  which 
is  given  a  definite  weight  or  value,  corresponding 
to  its  importance  in  making  up  the  perfect  exam- 

«3  Commons,  J. — "Standardizing  the  Home,"  Journal  Home 
Eco.y  Feb.  1910;  also  Qua/rterly  Amer.  Statistical  Assoc,  vol.  9, 
No.  84. 

64Perrv,  C.  A. — Quarterly  Pub.  Amer.  Statistical  Assoc,  vol. 
13,  No.  101. 


SCHEDULES  FOR  FIELD  WORK         177 

pie.  Why  not  apply  the  same  principle  of  stand- 
ardizing and  grading  by  the  use  of  weights  to  the 
study  of  social  conditions,  and  thus  secure  a  quan- 
titative expression  for  the  elusive  qualitative  con- 
dition? This  is  just  what  Commons  and  Perry 
have  done. 

If  the  student  will  now  examine  the  **  Dwelling 
House  Score  Card,''  shown  in  figure  10,  he  will  see 
how  such  a  qualitative  descriptive  term  as  loca- 
tion, which  is  so  often  vague  in  current  usage,  is 
nailed  down  to  certain  precise  and  objective  char- 
acteristics of  the  concept  location.  This  is  done 
by  breaking  up  the  problem  into  its  elements. 
For  example,  location  is  analyzed  into  six  differ- 
ent elements  with  a  possible  numerical  score  of 
eighteen  points  if  all  the  specifications  are  ful- 
filled in  a  given  instance.  These  elements  are  (1) 
General  character  of  the  neighborhood,  villa, 
farm,  residence,  park  (discredit  for  factory,  slum, 
neglected  district), — the  possible  score  of  this  ele- 
ment is  three  points;  (2)  Elevation — high  ground 
sloping  away  on  all  sides, — possible  score  three 
points;  (3)  Condition  of  street — ^width  in  feet, 
clean,  smooth,  hard,  free  from  dust,  sprinkled, 
flushed,  free  from  refuse  (indicate  whether 
asphalt,  block,  stone,  macadam,  cobble,  wood, 
or  dirt), — possible  score  three  points.  Elements 
number  (4),  (5)  and  (6)  relate  to  smoke,  odors, 
and  dust,  and  are  accompanied  by  appropriate  de- 
scriptions. Each  element  has  a  possible  score  of 
three  points.     Continuing  the  analysis,  congestion 


limiiiy    ttrj  V imuJM — fieane   sena   recoTnmenaaiioTia   jor  revision   to   jonn 
B.  Commons,  University  of  Wisconsin,  Madison,  Wisconsin.] 

DWELLING  HOUSE  SCORE   CARD. 

Applies  to  a  single  Family  or  Household 

StiUe City Street No 

Name  of  Owner Name  of  Occupant 

Naane  of  Investigator Date 


Instructions  for  Discrediting  when  Depending  on  Judgment 
Deduct  from  possible  6 :  very  slight,  1 ;  slight,  2 ;  marked,  3 ;  very  marked, 

4;  extreme,  5. 

Deduct   from  possible   3 :    very   slight,    ^  ;    slight,    1 ;    marked,    1 V^  ;    very 

marked,  2  ;  extreme,  2  Vz . 


I.— DWELLING — 100  POINTS. 


Pos- 
sible 
Score 


Points 
Defi- 
cient 


Actual 
Score 


LOCATION— 18  Points 

1.  General  Character  of  Neighborhood,    villa, 

farm,  residence,  park,  (Discredit  for  fac- 
tory,  slum,   neglected  district) 

2.  Elevation,  high  ground,  sloping  away  on  all 

sides    

S.  Condition  of  Street,  width  (ft.) clean, 

smooth,    hard,    free    from    dust,    sprinkled, 

flushed,  free  from  refuse 

(Indicate    whether    asphalt,    block,    stone,    ma- 
cadam, cobble,  wood,  dirt) 

4.  Smoke,  free  from    (indicate   source) 

5.  Odors,  free  from  nauseous  (indicate  source) 

6.  Dust,  free  from   (indicate  source) 

CONGESTION  OF  BXnLDINGS — 26  Points 

7.  Character  of  Dwelling — 10  Points  (indicate 

character) 

Detached    

Attached,     separate    entrance,     discredit    1 

point 
Attached,    common    entrance,     discredit    2 

points 
Flat  (entire  floor),  discredit  3  points 
Apartment  (2  or  more  on  same  floor),  dis- 
credit 4  points 
Basement   dwelling    (over    Vz    above    street 

level),    discredit    5 
Cellar     dwelling     (over     ^A     below     street 

level),   discredit   6 
Additional  discredits  for  flat  or  apartment 

without  elevator,    2nd  floor  2   points,    3rd 

floor  3  points,   etc. 

8.  Sunlight — 16  Points 

Height  and  distance  of  next  building  (use 
foot  of  its  own  window  in  case  of  flat  or 
apartment,  otherwise  foot  of  lower  win- 
dow, as  base  line  above  which  to  measure 
height  of  next  building) 
Direction  Height    Distance  Per  Cent. 

(Ind.  (Height  = 

street   or   alley)      (feet)       (feet)  100) 

North    

South 

East    

West 

(If  distance  equals  or  exceeds  height,  no 
points  deficient — if  distance  is  less  than 
height,  actual  score  is  same  per  cent,  of 
possible  score  as  distance  to  height,  e.  g. 
if  distanceir  20%  of  height,  actual 
score  =  20%  of  possible  score,   etc.) 


(18) 
8 


3 

3 

3 

3 

(26) 

10 


(   ) 
...... 

(    ) 
...... 

Forward    (ovee) 


44 


178 


I. — DWELLING — 100  POINTS. 


Pos- 
sible 
Score 


Points 
Defi- 
cient 


Actual 
Score 


Forwarded     

WINDOW  OPENINGS — 11  Points 


Booms  Window 

(Indicate         Space 
kitchen,  sleep-   (Sq.  Ft.) 
ing,  bath,  etc.) 

1 


Floor         Per  Cent. 
Space    Window  Space 
(Sq.  Ft.)    (Fir.  space= 
100) 


Number  of  Rooms    (including  dark  rooms 
having  window  space  less  than  20%.  . 

Per  Cent,  of  same  to  total  rooms 

Number  of  Dark  Rooms 

Per  Cent,  of  same  to  total  rooms 


9.  Total  Window  Space,  not  less  than  20%  of 

total  floor  space 

(Discredit   ^4    point  for  each  deficiency  of 
1% — e.  g.,     window    space      16%    of    floor 
space,    discredit    1    point,    leaving    actual 
score  4) 
Distribution  of  Window  Space — 6  Points. 

10.  Deficient  Rooms,  no  room  less  than  20%.  .  . 
(Discredit  same  per  cent,  of  possible  score 

as  per  cent,  of  rooms  having  window 
space  less  20%,  e.  g.,  6  room  house,  2 
rooms  deficient,  discredit  Vz  of  3  =  1,  leav- 
ing actual  score  2) 

11.  Dark    Rooms,    no    room    without    window 

openings    

(Discredit  same  per  cent,  of  possible  score 
as  per  cent,  of  dark  rooms,  e.  g.,  6  room 
house,  1  dark  room,  discredit  l^  of  3=%, 
leaving  actual  score  2H) 
Notice:  dark  room  is  discredited  also  above 
as   "deficient  room" 


Forward 


55 


179 


I.— DWELLING— 100  POINTS. 


Pos- 
sible 
Score 


Points 
Defi- 
cient 


Actual 
Score 


Forwarded     

AIB  AND  VENTILATION— 13  Points 

12.  Heating  Arrangements,  adapted  to  secure 

circulation  of  fresh  air  such  as  open  fire- 
place, hot  air  furnace,  stove  (connected 
directly  with  chimney  in  same  room).  .  . 
(Discredit  1  point  for  steam  or  hot  water, 
^/2  point  for  each  stove  connecting  with 
chimney  in  another  room) 

13.  Temperature,  adapted  to  secure  even  tem- 

perature,    not    excessive    heat    or     cold, 

equal  in   different   rooms 

(Discredit  proportionately  for  each  room 
without  heating  appliance) 

14.  Dampness,  freedom  from   (indicate  wheth- 

er  cellar,    kitchen,    sleeping  rooms,    other 

rooms )     

STRUCTURAL  CONDITION— 6  Points 

15.  Material,    (Indicate   whether   wood,   brick, 

stone,   concrete)    no  decayed  wood,  walls, 

floors,  ceilings  in  good  condition 

(Discredit  ^z  point  for  papered  walls  or 
ceilings) 

16.  Height  of  Ceiling,  not  less  than  9  feet.  .  . 
(Discredit  Vi,  point  for  each  foot  deficient) 

17.  Floor    Space,     (no    room    less    than    120 

sq.    ft.)    

HOUSE  APPURTENANCES — 26  Points 

(Discredit  total  score  in  each  case  if  ap- 
purtenance is  not  provided.  "Common" 
signifies  "used  in  common"  by  two  or 
more   families.) 

18.  Bath,     (Discredit    2    points    for    common 

bath)     

19.  Closet  in  Dwelling 

(Discredit    1    point    for   common   closet,    2 

for  outhouse  with  sewer  connection,  3 
without  sewer) 

20.  Sink,   (Discredit  Vz   for  common  sink)... 

21.  Laundry,    (Discredit  Vz   for  common  laun- 

dry)      

22.  Running    Water    in    house,     (Discredit    1 

point  for  common  hydrant,  2  for  hydrant 
outside,   3   for  well  outside) 

23.  Condition   of   Appurtenances,    good    mate- 

rial and  workmanship,  all  pipes  exposed. 

24.  Quality  of  Water  for  drinking 

25.  Quality  of  Water  for  bath  and  laundry. . . 
DWELLING  TOTAL  (Score  No.  1) 


55 
(13) 


(      ) 


(      ) 


(6) 
3 

1 


2 

(26) 


(      ) 


(      ) 


(      ) 


(      ) 


3 

100 


B.— COST  OF  HOUSING 

Rent  per  month  $ Rental  value  (if  occupied  by  owner)  $. . . 

Unit  of  Comparison  Nominal  Rent  Real  Rent 

Rent  per  room $ 

Rent  per  100  sq.  ft $ 

Rent  per  1.000  cu.  ft $ 

Probable  income  of  family  per  month  $ . . . . 


180 


II.— OCCUPANTS— 100  POINTS 

Pos- 
sible 
Score 

Points 
Defi- 
cient 

Actual 
Score 

CONGESTION  OF  OCCmPANCY— 61  Points 
Occupants,  number 

Family,  10  years  old  and  over,  male 

"         "       "       *'      "         "      female 

Lodgers,   Domestics,    10   years  old  and   over. 

(61) 

50 
11 

(18) 

3 
6 

3 

6 

(21) 
3 
3 
3 
6 
6 

100 

(      ) 

(      ) 
(      ) 

(      ) 

Lodgers,   Domestics,   10  years  old  and  over. 

Children  under   10   years    

Total   (Child  under  10  as   %   person) 

1.  Cubic  Air  Space,   (average  height  of  ceiling 
by  total  floor  space),  cu    ft.. 

Cu.  ft.  per  occupant No  dis- 
credit if  1000  or  over           

(Discredit    1    point    for    each    20    ft.    below 
1000,   e.  g.,   600  cu.  ft.  discredit  20  points, 
leaving  actual  score  30) 
2.  Sleeping  Rooms  per  occupant 

(Discredit  1   point   for   each  person  in  ex- 
cess of  number  of  sleeping  rooms) 
CONDITION  OF  AIR  AND   VENTILATION- 
IS  Points 
3.  Windows,  kept  open  to  fresh,  air 

I^iving  rooms            

(      ) 

4.  Temperature,  kept  even,  not  excessive  heat 
or    cold                      

5.  Dust,    care    in    avoiding   dust   by   sweeping 

no  home  workshop    

CLEANLINESS,  care  and  attention,  no  rubbish, 
dirt,  grease  or  refuse, — 21  Points 

(      ) 

7.  Floors     

8    Walls               

9.  Plumbing    .. 
10.  Yard       

OCCUPANTS  TOTAL    (Score  No.   2) 

Rent  per  occupant   (nominal) $. 

Real  rent  per  occupant   (compared  with  stand- 


ard) 


$. 


Figure  10.    Commons'  dwelling  house  score  card. 


181 


182     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

of  buildings  has  a  possible  total  score  of  twenty- 
six  points.  It  is  analyzed  into  its  various  con- 
stituent elements.  The  analysis  follows  this  pro- 
cedure consistently  and  enumerates  in  all  twenty- 
five  elements  of  the  standard  dwelling.  The  total 
possible  score  for  a  dwelling  is  thus  100  points. 
In  proportion  as  dwellings  fall  below  the  standard 
they  are  graded  below  100. 

The  advantage  of  this  method  of  recording  ob- 
servations of  social  conditions  is  that  it  limits  the 
total  margin  of  error  by  breaking  it  up  into  thirty 
or  forty  little  margins.  When  a  field  worker  has 
** scored'*  a  house  according  to  the  analysis  on  the 
card,  we  attain  the  actual  score  of  the  house  com- 
pared with  a  perfect  or  ideal  house.  Commons 
takes  rent  **per  100  square  feet'*  as  the  most  sat- 
isfactory unit  by  which  to  compare  the  cost  of 
housing.  For  example,  where  two  houses,  rent- 
ing nominally  at  a  dollar  per  month  for  equal  floor 
space,  score  80  and  50  respectively,  the  real  rent 
of  one  is  $1.25  and  of  the  other  $2  for  the  unit  of 
house  accommodation.  Compared  with  this  the 
perfect  house  has  a  real  rent  of  $1.  In  order  to 
measure  the  congestion  of  occupancy  Commons 
uses  as  unit  of  comparison  rent  per  occupant. 
Taking  the  same  two  houses  which  we  assumed 
showed  scores  of  80  and  50  respectively  on  the 
** dwelling"  card,  and  assuming  that  the  occupants 
of  each  were  scored  alike  at  70  on  the  '^occupant*' 
card,  then  56  and  35  respectively  are  the  combined 
dwelling  and  occupant   scores.     If  the  nominal 


SCHEDULES  FOR  FIELD  WORK  183 

rent  should  be  $2  per  occupant,  the  real  rents 
would  then  be  $3.57  and  $5.71  per  occupant,  as 
compared  with  $2  for  the  ideal  dwelling  occupied 
by  the  ideal  tenant. 

Perry,^^  believing  that  the  ideal  towards  which 
American  families  tend  is  that  of  having  separate 
apartments  and  a  separate  and  suitable  equip- 
ment for  carrying  on  each  of  the  fundamental 
household  activities,  has  selected  a  standard  man- 
ner of  living  as  an  arbitrary  measure  of  differ- 
ent households.  He  enumerates  fourteen  char- 
acteristics in  the  equipment  of  the  kitchen  and  as- 
signs to  each  an  arbitrary  numerical  weight.  The 
field  worker  records  his  observation  by  checking 
the  item  which  appears  in  the  household  visited. 
This  method  does  not  require  any  questioning  on 
the  part  of  the  field  worker  and  the  enumeration 
of  items  to  be  observed  restricts  the  visitor  to 
decisions  which  allow  practically  no  play  of  indi- 
vidual judgment,  and  thus  safeguards  the  method 
from  the  vitiating  effects  of  the  personal  equa- 
tion.    The  score  card  appears  in  figure  11. 

When  the  field  worker  returns  to  his  office  ap- 
propriate weights  are  entered  in  the  RT.  column 
for  the  items  checked  in  the  CK.  The  final  index 
of  a  family  is  obtained  by  dividing  the  total  rat- 
ings by  the  total  weights.  Although  the  system 
of  weights  is  arbitrar}^,  articles  in  the  dining  room 
are  given  twice  the  weight  of  articles  either  in  the 
kitchen  or  bed  room,  and  articles  in  the  parlor 

65  Op.  cit. 


I.  KITCHEN. 


Articles. 

CK. 

WT. 

RT. 

Stove    

4 

Gas   Stove    (7) 

Table    

3 
3 
3 

Tin   closet    

Cupboard     

Cabinet    ( 7 ) 

Sink     

4 

1 

Bench     ( 1 ) 

Oilcloth  on  floor 

4 
2 
1 

W^indow    shades 

Refrigerator    (10)    

Total  weight  and  rating  of  Kitchen 

25 



II.  DINING  ROOM. 


Articles. 


CK. 


WT. 


RT. 


Dish    closet 

Table    

Sideboard     (10) 

Table  cover, <  white 

Table  cover  of  oilcloth    (2) 

Table  cover,   colored    (3) 

Carpet     

Oilcloth     (5) 

Rug    (15) 

Window    shades 

Curtains     (6) 

Pictures    

Pictures   Framed    (6) 

Lamp    

No.  of  chairs 
Seating    (Rating  X  10) 

No.  of  family- 
Sewing   Machine    (5) 

Cradle     (5) 

Refrigerator    (10) 


12 


Total  weight  and  rating  of  Dining-Room. 


50 


Fig.  11. 


Score  card  for  manner  of  living. 
184 


SCHEDULES  FOR  FIELD  WORK         185 

have  three  times  the  weight  of  articles  in  the 
kitchen  or  bed  room.  The  rapid  increase  of  val- 
ues secured  by  this  method  gives  a  quantitative 
expression  for  different  stages  of  household  de- 
velopment. For  example,  there  will  be  a  clear 
demarcation  between  the  household  still  in  the 
kitchen  stage  and  one  that  has  reached  the  dining- 
room  stage. 

The  score  card  method,  although  new  in  the 
field  of  social  investigations,  holds  forth  consid- 
erable promise  to  the  scientific  investigator.  By 
this  device  social  facts  are  measured  by  a  definite 
standard  agreed  upon  beforehand.  The  compli- 
cated problem  is  broken  up  into  its  most  essential 
elements,  and  each  element  is  judged  separately, 
thus  breaking  up  the  total  margin  of  error  into 
thirty  or  forty  little  margins  in  which  the  errors 
may  be  reduced  to  a  minimum.  The  weights  as- 
signed to  items  are  of  course  arbitrary,  but  since 
the  weights  are  constant  throughout  the  investiga- 
tion whatever  error  there  may  be  is  also  a  con- 
stant error.  With  added  experience  and  investi- 
gation a  less  arbitrary  system  of  weights  will  be 
devised.  In  any  event  the  score  card  suggests  an 
ingenious  device  for  giving  quantitative  expres- 
sion to  the  records  of  observations  and  qualitative 
social  facts. 


186     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

SUMMARY   OF   PRINCIPLES 

To  summarize  now  the  principles  that  should 
guide  in  the  selection  of  the  inquiries  to  be  printed 
on  the  schedule :  ^^ 

(1)  Inquiries  should  be  comparatively  few  in 

number. 

(2)  Eequire  an  answer  of  a  number  or  *^yes'' 
I  or**no.^' 

V  (3)  The  recording  of  observations  of  qualitative 
facts  should  be  in  quantitative  or  other 
objective  terms. 

(4)  Inquiries  should  be  simple  enough  to  be 

readily  understood. 

(5)  Such  as  may  be  answered  without  bias. 

(6)  Not  unnecessarily  inquisitorial. 

(7)  As  far  as  possible  corroboratory. 

(8)  Answers  suggested  as  alternatives,  the  cor- 

rect one  to  be  checked. 

(9)  Inquiries  such  as  directly  and  unmistak- 

ably cover  the  point  of  information  de- 
sired. 

THE   SCHEDULE   AS  DETERMINED   BY   PRACTICE   IN 
TABULATION 

Formulating  inquiries  for  the  schedule  is  a 
process  somewhat  more  restricted  than  the  fore- 
going statements  would  seem  to  indicate,  because 

^'o  Compare,  Bailey  and  Ciimmings,  Statistics,  pp.  8-11;  King, 
W.  I. — Elements  of  Statistical  Method,  p.  57;  Secri.st,  H. — Introd. 
Statistical  Methods,  pp.  53-4. 


r 


SCHEDULES  FOR  FIELD  WORK  187 


the  classification  systems  which  have  been  used 
in  the  tabulations  of  former  reports  often  deter- 
mine quite  rigidly  what  inquiries  should  be  en- 
tered on  the  schedule.^ ^  In  the  census  work  of 
the  government,  the  schedule  used  in  any  enu- 
meration must  produce  data  to  make  the  new  tab- 
ulations comparable  with  the  old.  This  may  also 
be  the  case  in  studies  of  income  and  expenditure 
which  are  carried  on  by  private  agencies.  Tabu- 
lations in  printed  reports  therefore  often  deter- 
mine specifically  the  number  and  the  nature  of 
inquiries  that  shall  be  printed  on  a  schedule.  In 
a  new  field  of  investigation,  however,  with  no 
former  tabulations  to  restrict,  experimentation 
with  trial  schedules  is  the  usual  procedure.  It  is 
hardly  possible  even  after  the  comparative  study 
of  schedules  used  by  other  investigators  to  devise 
one  in  all  respects  satisfactory  for  a  given  study. 
It  is  a  good  plan  to  draw  up  trial  schedules  and 
test  them  out  in  the  field  before  going  to  the  ex- 
pense of  printing  the  finished  schedule  in  large 
quantities. 

THE   QUESTIONNAIRE   METHOD 

In  the  investigation  of  some  problems  it  is  not 
possible  to  secure  full  information  from  field  work 
study  and  the  material  obtained  by  first  hand  con- 
tact with  the  facts  needs  to  be  supplemented  with 
information  obtained  in  questionnaires  sent  to 
correspondents.    Many  of  the  principles  which 

«7  Bailey  and  Cmnmings,  op.  cit.,  pp.  26-31. 


188     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

determine  the  arrangement  and  selection  of  in- 
quiries on  a  schedule  apply  with  equal  force  to  the 
questionnaire.  Some  of  the  more  important  of 
these  it  is  worth  while  to  repeat  and  to  add  to  them 
the  principles  peculiarly  applicable  to  the  ques- 
tionnaire method.^^ 

(1)  The  questionnaire  should  have  an  air  of 
the  personal  wherever  possible.  Therefore  avoid 
use  of  the  stereotyped  **Dear  Sir''  or  ** Madam'' 
and  place  at  the  head  of  the  questionnaire  the 
name  and  address  of  the  informant.  After  the 
introductory  paragraph  it  is  desirable  to  write 
and  not  to  print  the  signature  of  the  investigator. 

(2)  The  advantage  of  having  the  name  and 
address  of  the  correspondent  at  the  beginning  of 
the  questionnaire  is  that  some  correspondents 
forget  to  enter  their  name  and  address  when  writ- 
ing returns  and  this  omission  makes  identification 
difficult  if  not  impossible. 

(3)  Ask  the  question  in  such  a  way  that  the 
answer  is  shifted  from  the  basis  of  mere  accom- 
modation to  one  of  interest.  It  often  helps  to 
request  the  informant  to  indicate  whether  he 
desires  a  copy  of  the  final  report. 

(4)  Questions  should  be  as  few  as  possible 
because  in  most  questionnaires  the  informant's 
answer  is  voluntary  and  a  bulky  list  will  appear 
more  formidable  than  it  really  is,  thus  discourag- 
ing replies. 

68  Hobson,  A. — "The  Use  of  the  Correspondence  Method  in  Orig- 
inal Research,"  Quart.  Pub.  Amer.  Statistical  Assoc,  vol.  16, 
No.  114,  pp.  210-218. 


OCTOBER  REPORT:  Fill  out  »nd  mail 
promptly  to  State  Department  of  Labor, 
Albany,  N.  Y.  Insert  carbon  for  copy  and 
retain  second  sheet  for  your  files 


STATE  DEPARTMENT  OF  LABOR— THE  INDUSTRIAL 
COMMISSION 

Bureau  of  Statistics  and  Information 

Albany,  N.  Y.,  October  21,  1918. 

QSKTIiEMEN : 

For  the  purpose  of  obtaining  for  public  information  monthly  statistics 
as  to  fluctuations  in  employment,  to  be  incorporated  in  the  Labor  Market 
Bulletin,  this  Commission  respectfully  requests  you  to  submit  the  data  for 
October  called  for  below.  No  information  of  any  description  as  to  indi- 
vidual firms  will  be  made  public;  only  totals  for  industries  and  for  locali- 
ties will  be  pubished.     This  report  should  be  submitted  immediately. 

"Very  truly  yours, 
Approved  for  the  Commission.  (Signed)  L.  W.  Hatch, 

Louis  Wiard,  Chief  Statiaticia/n. 

Commissioner. 

Report  on  Employees  and  Wages 

Directions.  The  figures  must  be  taken  from  pay  rolls  or  other  records. 
Use  that  pay  roll  in  which  the  15th  of  October  fell.  Give  the  figures  for 
that  pay  roll,  whatever  the  period  covered  by  it,  indicating  by  dates  in 
the  first  column  the  period  covered. 


Period  of  Selected  Pay  Roll 
Including    15th    of    October 

Employees  on  Pay 
Roll 

Total  Wages   Paid 

Office 
force 

Shop 
force 

Total 

Office 
force 

Shop 
force 

Total 

October to 1918.. 







$.... 

$.... 

$.... 

Remarks.  If  there  have  been  special  circumstances,  such  as  changes 
in  wage  rates,  processes  of  manufacture  or  line  of  goods  made,  or  such 
as  departments  or  branch  factories  opened  or  closed,  etc.,  which  would 
aflfect  the  significance  of  the  figures  reported,  kindly  note  the  same  here. 


Dat«. 


Signed  (name) . 
Title. 


Figure  12.    Questionnaire  to  be  sent  to  employer. 
189 


Charles  F.  Gettemy  [L-35] 

Director 

The  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts 

BUREAU  OF  STATISTICS 

Labor  Division 

state  house,  boston 
Dear  Sir: 

The  Bureau  requests  your  assistance  in  securing,  as  heretofore,  quar- 
terly statistics  of  employment  of  organized  labor  in  the  Commonwealth, 
The  questions  on  the  attached  form  refer  to  the  organization  named 
thereon,  and  information  is  desired  for  the  date  specified.  After  answer 
ing  the  inquiries  kindly  tear  off  the  form  below  and  return  it  in  the  en- 
closed envelope,  within  ten  days  if  possible. 

A  copy  of  our  report  containing  summary  tables  of  the  returns  from  all 
unions  reporting  and  other  information  of  interest  to  organized  labor  wili 
be  sent  addressed  to  each  correspondent  furnishing  the  information  herein 
requested.  Respectfully  yours, 

(Signed)  Charles  F.  Gettemy, 

Director. 


File  No.  3. 
EMPLOYMENT  AND  MEMBERSHIP— REPORT  FOR 

Notice, — Kindly  answer  each  question  in  order  that  further  correspond 
ence  may  be  rendered  unnecessary.  If  any  question  is  not  applicable  t( 
your  organization,  mark  a  cross  (X)  opposite  such  question.  Where  tht 
proper  answer  is  "NONE,"  this  word  should  be  written,  so  that  W€ 
may  know  the  question  has  been  considered  by  you.  Remarks  with  refer- 
ence to  any  of  the  inquiries  may  be  written  on  the  reverse  side  of  this 
schedule. 


1.  City  or  town  where  your  organization  is  located. 

2.  Name  and  local  number  of  your  organization. .  .  . 

3.  Occupation  or  kind  of  work  done 


4.  How  many  members  were  unemployed  because  of 

lack  of  work  or  material? 

5.  How  many  members  were  unemployed  because  of 

unfavorable  weather?    

6.  How  many  members  were  unemployed  because  of 

Strike  or  lockout? 

7.  How  many  members  were  unemployed  because  of 

sickness,  accident,  or  old  age? 

8.  How  many  members  were  unemployed  because  of 

other  reasons? 


State  what  these  other  reasons  were. 


9.  Total  number  of  members  unemployed  on  date 
specified    above 


Ai  c  ii 

Women 

10.  Total  membership  of  your  local  organization  on  date  specified  above? 
Men Women Total 


Date. 


Information   supplied  by. 

.Official    position 

Address     


Figure  13. 


Questionnaire  sent  to  labor  unions. 
190 


SCHEDULES  FOR  FIELD  WORK  191 

(5)  Questions  should  be  so  minutely  analyzed 
beforehand  that  the  correspondent  may  answer  by 
merely  checking  off  the  correct  answer  that 
appears  as  an  alternative  to  others  upon  the  list. 
It  should  be  remembered  that  checking  is  quicker 
and  more  legible  than  handwriting. 

(6)  Questions  should  be  arranged  in  the  order 
of  importance  for  the  subject  under  investigation 
so  that  the  correspondent  will  answer  those  that 
are  essential  even  if  the  later  ones  are  left  unan- 
swered. 

The  student  should  examine  the  questionnaires 
appearing  in  figures  9,  12  and  13  and  criticize 
them  in  the  light  of  the  foregoing  principles. 
Figure  9  presents  part  of  a  questionnaire  sent  out 
by  the  Children's  Bureau  to  courts  hearing  chil- 
dren's cases.  Figure  12  is  a  questionnaire  sent 
out  by  the  Industrial  Commission  of  the  New  York 
State  Department  of  Labor  to  employers  to  obtain 
information  for  incorporation  in  the  Labor  Mar- 
ket Bulletin.  Finally,  Figure  13  is  a  question- 
naire sent  to  labor  organizations  to  secure  infor- 
mation on  the  employment  of  organized  labor  in 
Massachusetts. 

SELECTED  REFERENCES 

Bailey,  W.  B.,  and  Cummings,  J. — Statistics,  1917, 
chs.  1-3. 

Bowley,  A.  L. — Elementary  Manual  of  Statistics, 
1910,  pp.  137-160. 

Elements  of  Statistics,  1907,  pp.  33-62. 

Chapin,  R.  C. — The  Standard  of  Living  Among  Work- 


192      FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

ingmen's  Families  in  New  York  City,  1909,  Part  I  and 
appendix  III. 

King,  W.  I. — Elements  of  Statistical  Method,  1912, 
chs.  5-6. 

Secrist,  H. — Introduction  to  Statistical  Methods,  1917, 
chs.  2-4.  • 


CHAPTER  VIII 

EDITING,  CLASSIFICATION,  TABULATION  AND  INTEEPRE- 
TATION  OF  FIELD  WORK  DATA 

When  the  field  work  phase  of  an  investigation 
is  complete,  the  student  proceeds  to  prepare  his 
material  for^  statistical  interpretation.  The  pro- 
cess of  preparation  involves  editing,  classification, 
and  tabulation  of  the  information  recorded  on  the 
schedule. 

Card  schedules  facilitate  editing,  classifying, 
and  tabulating  because  they  are  readily  handled. 
The  Massachusetts  State  Census  has  for  several 
decades  used  separate  cards  far  each  individual 
and  each  family  enumerated.  In  the  1915  census 
the  dimensions  of  these  cards  were  SygX^Ys 
inches.  Blue  cards  were  used  for  enumerating 
males,  pink  cards  for  females,  yellow  cards  for 
families,  and  white  cards  for  Civil  War  veterans. 
In  contrast  to  this  card  schedule  is  the  population 
schedule  of  the  Federal  Census,  16x23  inches  in 
dimensions.  Fifty  persons  are  enumerated  on 
each  face,  making  one  hundred  returns  for  every 
schedule.  While  this  large  paper  schedule  takes 
up  less  space  in  bulk  and  weighs  less  than  one 
hundred  cards,  it  is  not  as  easily  handled  in  the 

193 


194     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

editing  and  is  likely  to  become  soiled  and  torn. 
Moreover,  the  complete  loss  of  a  large  schedule 
means  the  loss  of  returns  for  one  hundred  persons. 
The  card  schedule  seems  on  the  whole  the  more 
efficient  and  practical  form.  The  standard  size  is 
usually  5X8  inches. 

The  editing  of  schedules  aims  to  secure  a  high 
degree  of  accuracy,  consistency,  uniformity,  and 
completeness  in  the  returns.^^ 

EDITING  SCHEDULES 

(1)  Accuracy.  Certain  replies  may  raise  a  pre- 
sumption of  error  which  justifies  investigation  for 
verification.  This  is  often  the  case  in  returns  for 
age.  Occasionally  it  is  possible  in  instances  where 
schedules  are  in  the  form  of  a  questionnaire  filled 
in  by  a  reporting  agency  to  return  them  to  the 
correspondent  for  correction.  As  a  rule,  however, 
the  editor  must  accept  as  final  the  replies  entered 
upon  the  schedule. 

Bailey  and  Cummings  say,  *^A11  schedi^  replies 
are  equally  original  and  the  only  evidence  compe- 
tent to  justify  the  revision  of  one  reply  is/the  evi- 
dence presented  in  the  other  replies.'^  In  decid- 
ing upon  which  of  two  or  more  inconsistent  replies 
is  to  be  accepted  as  correct,  the  editor  is  guided 
by  the  general  principles  that  a  strong  probability 
of  correctness  attaches  to  one  reply.  If  it  is  clear 
that  there  is  no  strong  probability  of  correctness, 
the  inconsistent   replies   are   put   into  the   *^no 

69  Bailey  and  Cummings,  op.  cit.,  pp.  17-25. 


EDITING  FIELD  WORK  DATA  195 

report"  class.  The  editor  is  never  justified  in 
erasing  returns  on  the  schedule  and  any  revisions 
that  he  does  make  should  be  written  in  a  distinc- 
tive ink  so  that  the  corrections  of  the  editor  may 
always  be  distinguished. 

(2)  Consistency.  There  should  be  systematic 
examination  of  all  related  replies  in  order  to  check 
one  against  another.  Since  some  inquiries  are 
more  or  less  related,  the  reply  to  one  inquiry 
often  enters  into  the  determination  of  the  reply  to 
another  —  for  example,  date  of  birth  and  age, 
marital  condition  and  age. 

Occasionally  totals  do  not  check  up  with  the 
number  of  constituent  items  and  must  be  made 
consistent  by  editing.  For  example,  a  family 
budget  is  incorrectly  totaled  or  balanced  or  the 
number  of  individuals  returned  in  a  given  family 
is  more  or  less  than  the  total  members  recorded 
elsewhere.  The  return  that  a  person  was  the 
head  of  a  family  and  was  employed  in  some  gain- 
ful occupation  together  with  other  details  on  the 
schedule  might  in  some  cases  justify  editing  an 
inconsistent  age  return  as  *^age  unknown''  on  the 
strong  probability  that  an  error  had  been  made  in 
recording  the  age,  possibly  by  omitting  one  figure 
in  writing  the  age,  as  in  recording  a  person  of  the 
age  20  years  as  of  age  2  years. 

(3)  Uniformity.  It  sometimes  occurs  that  re- 
turns for  the  same  fact  are  variously  stated.  This 
gives  rise  to  the  problem  of  uniformity.  In  oc- 
cupational returns  the  same  occupation  may  be 


196     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

given  different  names  in  different  localities  or  may 
be  vaguely  designated.  Indeterminate  returns 
such  as  ** clerk, '^  ^'engineer,''  ^^ mechanic,"  etc. 
may  be  used.  It  is  thus  necessary  to  edit  returns 
for  uniformity  in  order  that  they  may  be  consist- 
ently grouped  for  tabulation. 

(4)  Completeness.  When  replies  are  actually 
omitted  they  must  be  supplied  by  the  editor  in 
order  to  permit  tabulation.  Usually  the  entry 
**no  report''  or  ** unknown''  will  suffice  where  no 
specific  reply  is  indicated  by  the  other  data  on  the 
schedule. 

Wherever  possible  it  is  desirable  to  verify  and 
check  returns  by  clearing  them  through  some  other 
agency  which  possesses  comparable  data."^^  The 
Health  Insurance  Commission  of  Illinois  checked 
the  data  secured  from  family  investigations 
against  records  possessed  by  social  agencies  in 
Chicago.  Since  practically  all  of  the  more 
important  social  agencies  of  the  city  registered 
their  cases  either  with  the  Social  Service  Eegistra- 
tion  Bureau  or  with  the  Central  Bureau  of  the 
Jewish  Charities,  all  schedules  collected  in  the 
family  study  were  cleared  through  these  two  regis- 
tration bureaus.  With  the  cooperation  of  the 
Cook  County  Agent  the  schedules  were  again 
cleared  through  his  branch  offices  in  order  to  verify 
the  statement  of  the  family  of  the  fact  of  aid  re- 
ceived and  also  to  determine  the  exact  value  in 
money  of  the  monthly  supplies  issued.    Kecords  of 

70  Report  of  Health  Insurance  Commission,  pp.  181-3. 


EDITING  FIELD  WORK  DATA  197 

the  different  dispensaries  of  Chicago  and  of  the 
Municipal  Tuberculosis  Sanitarium  were  also  used 
to  check  the  schedules.  With  but  few  exceptions 
reports  made  by  the  family  and  recorded  on  the 
schedules  were  confirmed  by  an  examination  of 
these  records. 

In  the  central  office  of  the  Massachusetts  Cen- 
sus "^^  population  schedules  showing  omissions  are 
checked  against  local  assessor's  lists  or  real  estate 
maps  which  may  show  population  and  dwellings 
where  the  enumerator  has  returned  none.  There 
are  a  great  variety  of  documentary  and  printed 
sources  of  social  data  which  w^ould  be  available 
for  verification  purposes  if  the  student  will  only 
use  a  little  ingenuity  in  discovering  them  and  put- 
ting them  to  use.  This  process  of  checking  is 
tedious  work  but  time  spent  in  this  way  is  amply 
justified  by  the  increased  accuracy  and  complete- 
ness of  the  returns. 

CLASSIFICATION 

When  the  schedules  have  been  edited  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  student,  the  next  step  is  to 
transfer  the  information  recorded  thereon  to  tab- 
ulations or  other  methodical  arrangements  of  the 
information.  Before  considering  the  technique  of 
statistical  tabulation  it  will  be  helpful  for  the 
moment  to  consider  the  purpose  of  classification 
of  which  tabulation  is  but  a  special  technique. 

ti  Decennial  Census  of  Massachusetts,  1915,  Part  I,  pp.  22, 
24-26. 


198     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

Cramer  "^2  says,  ** Performed  consciously  or  uncon- 
sciously, the  act  of  classification  is  indispensable 
to  and  accompanies  every  scientific  inference. 
The  mind  is  orderly  or  slovenly,  according  as  it 
does  or  does  not  habitually  and  accurately  classify 
the  facts  mth  which  it  comes  in  contact.  The  suc- 
cess of  an  investigation,  the  worth  of  a  conclusion, 
are  in  direct  proportion  to  the  fidelity  to  this  prin- 
ciple and  the  exhaustiveness  with  which  the  pro- 
cess is  carried  out.'' 

A  valid  system  of  classification  helps  us  to  avoid 
loose  habits  of  thinking  and  is  a  step  of  great 
importance  in  scientific  method.  In  the  first  chap- 
ter we  saw  that  classification,  the  third  step  of  the 
inductive  method,  follows  upon  the  collection  of 
the  material.  It  is  a  process  of  grouping  things 
together  according  to  their  possession  of  certain 
selected  common  attributes.  When  we  classify 
material  we  place  together  in  classes  the  things 
that  possess  in  common  the  greatest  number  of 
attributes.  The  usual  categories  of  classification 
are  those  of  time,  place,  size  or  magnitude,  and 
order.  It  is  to  be  noted,  however,  that  categories 
of  kind  and  type  blend  and  overlap  and  are  not 
exclusive  in  any  absolute  sense.  Classification 
facilitates  comparison.  It  assists  us  in  showing 
sequences  and  series.  The  scientific  test  for  class- 
ification is  the  number  and  importance  of  proper- 
ties which  can  be  regarded  as  common. 

72  Cramer,  F. — The  Method  of  Darwin:  A  study  in  Scientific 
Method,  p.  88. 


EDITING  FIELD  WORK  DATA  199 

In  approaching  classification  we  may  either 
decide  a  priori  the  nature  of  the  classes,  or  we  may 
examine  the  material  to  discover  whether  items 
fall  into  distinct  groups  with  several  common 
traits. 

Bowley"^^  finds  the  a  priori  method  most 
appropriate  for  industrial  data  when  division  is 
made  on  the  basis  of  function.  Occupations  give 
nearly  clean  lines  of  division.  There  is  compara- 
tively little  overlapping.  Consider  the  following 
scheme  of  classification  by  degrees  of  occupation. 

CLASSIFICATION  BY  DEGREE  OF  OCCUPATION 

1.  Occupied  in  production  of  utilities  or  in  rendering 
services  for  profits  or  wages,  during  normal  hours. 

2.  Occupied  in  production  of  utilities  or  in  rendering 
services  for  profits  or  wages,  during  part  of  working 
hours,  and  (a)  also  doing  domestic  work  at  home,  or  (b) 
completely  leisured  at  home. 

3.  Completely  occupied  in  domestic  work  at  home. 

4.  Partly  occupied  at  home  and  partly  leisured. 

5.  Unoccupied,  (a)  below  school-leaving  age,  (b)  past 
work,  (c)  others. 

AN.VLYSIS   OF   NATURE  OF  OCCUPATION 

1.  Employed. 

(a) Whenever  occupied   for  gain  and 

(i.  )  not  employing  others, 

(ii.)   employing  others, 
(b)  In  part  of  occupations  for  gain  and 

(i.  )  not  employing  others, 

(ii.)   employing  others. 

2.  Employers  and  direct  workers. 
(a)  Directing,  not  making. 

73  Bowley,  The  Measurement  of  Social  Phenomena,  pp.  54-58. 


200     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

(i.  )  At  will,  for  client. 

(ii.)   Under  general  instructions. 

(b)  Directing  and  making, 
(i.  )  At  will,  for  client. 

(ii.)  Under  general  instructions. 

(c)  Making  without  help, 
(i.  )   At  will,  for  client. 

(ii.)  Under  general  instructions. 

ANALYSIS   OF   CONDITION   OF   EMPLOYMENT 

1.  Directing. 

2.  Under  orders,  (a)  Clerical,  (b)  Manual,  subdivided 

by  degree  of  skill  and  responsibility. 
Cross-division,    (a)    Learners,    (b)    With   completed 
knowledge. 

CLASSIFICATION  IN  RELATION  TO 
DEPENDENCE 

1.  Dependent,   (a)  entirely,  (b)  contributing  part  of 

cost, of  keep,  (c)  contributing  special  cost. 

2.  Independent,  (a)  contributing  special  and  general 

cost,  (b)  not  living  in  family. 

3.  With  dependents. 

Statisticians  have  found  that  the  clearest  lines' 
of  demarcation  between  occupations  are  those 
which  separate  the  materials  which  are  handled  in 
manufacture  (as  metals,  wood,  clay,  and  animal 
products,  etc.).  In  the  practical  application,  how- 
ever, there  are  so  many  difficulties  in  classification 
by  occupation  and  employment  that  it  is  futile  to 
attempt  universal  definitions.  The  best  proced- 
ure is  to  take  industry  by  industry  and  to  classify 
the  various  occupations  on  broad  divisions  which 
allow  a  margin  of  uncertainty. 

In   classification   by   social  position  the   diffi- 


EDITING  FIELD  WORK  DATA  201 

culty  of  discovering  clean  lines  of  separation  is 
greatest.  Occupation,  income,  and  habits  are 
determining  elements  in  the  distinctions  made 
between  social  classes.  Often  a  grading  by 
income  nearly  corresponds  to  the  test  of  social 
intercourse.  In  the  manual  laboring  class  the  cri^ 
teria  are  those  of  habits  and  customs  quite  as 
much  as  income  or  occupation.  The  amount  of 
income  or  expenditure  by  individuals  or  families 
has  an  order  that  frequently  corresponds  to  the 
social  grading.  When  modes  are  found  at  differ- 
ent points  in  the  income  scale  of  a  considerable 
aggregate  of  people,  these  modes  often  point  to 
the  existence  of  a  type,  but  the  problem  is  more 
complicated  than  this.  Agricultural  laborers  may 
receive  the  free  use  of  a  cottage  in  addition  to  a 
wage.  How  is  the  cottage  to  be  rated  with  refer- 
ence to  income?  Again,  the  total  income  of  some 
artisans  is  equivalent  to  or  actually  larger  than 
that  of  some  teachers,  yet  each  class  buys  different 
goods  and  has  different  habits.  Before  the  fac- 
tory system  had  been  so  generally  adopted  in  man- 
ufacturing as  it  is  today,  there  were  two  modes  in 
the  wage  series  of  manual  workers,  indicating 
respectively  unskilled  and  skilled  artisans.  These 
groupings  have  been  obliterated  by  macliine  in- 
dustry. 

One  of  the  most  satisfactory  methods  of  class- 
ifying social  and  psychological  data  is  to  enum- 
erate them  in  the  order  of  frequency.    Healy  "^^ 

T^The  Individual  Delinquent,  pp.  130-131. 


202     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

has  used  this  method  to  advantage  in  his  study  of 
delinquent  careers.  The  following  table  illus- 
trates the  device  of  classifying  by  order. 

SUMMARY    OF    CAUSATIVE    FACTORS    BY    GROUPS   AND   TOTALS 

IN  823   CASES:    560  MALES,  263  FEMALES. 


Groups  of  Causative  Factors 


Number 

of  times 

appeared 

to  be 

main 

factor 


Number 
of  times 
appeared 
lobe 
minor 
factor 


Total 

Number 

of  times 

appeared 

as 

factor 


Mental    abnormalities   and    peculiarities.  .  .  . 

Defective  home  conditions,  including  alco- 
holism      

Mental   conflict    «. 

Improper  sex  experiences  and  habits 

Bad    companions    

Abnormal  physical  conditions,  including  ex- 
cessive  development    

Defects   of   heredity 

Defective  or  unsatisfied  interests,  including 
misuse  or  nonuse  of  special  abilities.  .  .  . 

Defective   early   developmental   conditions.  . 

Mental   shock 

Deliberate    choice    

Sold  by  parent    

Use  of  stimulants  or  narcotics 

Experiences  under  legal  detention 

Educational  defects   extreme 


455 

162 
68 
46 
44 

40 
16 


135 

394 

15 

146 

235 

233 
502 

93 

214 

3 


590 

556 

73 

192 

279 

273 
502 

109 

214 

3 

1 

1 

92 

15 

20 


Totals 


2,097 


2,920 


Although  it  is  frequently  difficult  to  discover 
many  common  attributes  of  social  data  to  use  as 
the  basis  of  classification,  statisticians  and  scien- 
tific students  of  social  problems  have  developed  a 
few  reliable  systems  of  classification  in  special 
fields.  The  International  List  of  Causes  of  Sick- 
ness and  Death  is  a  valid  classification  system  for 
material  consisting  of  statements  of  causes  of 
death.  The  United  States  Census  Bureau  has 
prepared  in  its  publication,  **An  Index  to  Occu- 
pations,*' a  classification  of  215  main  occupations 
and   occupation   groups,   84   of  which   are   sub- 


EDITING  FIELD  WORK  DATA  203 

divided,  making  a  total  of  428  separate  occupa- 
tions and  occupation  groups.  The  International 
Association  of  Industrial  Accident  Boards  and  the 
Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  have  evolved  a  system 
for  the  classification  of  accidents.  Davenport  '^'^ 
in  his  ** Trait  Book''  has  worked  out  a  classifica- 
tion of  physical  and  mental  traits  to  be  utilized  in 
the  study  of  human  heredity. 

Scientific  progress  in  social  investigation 
requires  willingness  on  the  part  of  students  to 
utilize  such  standard  classification  systems  as 
those  described.  It  is  indifference  to  the  use  of 
such  standard  classification  systems  that  renders 
much  of  our  social  and  medical  material  useless.' 
The  standard  classification  systems  are  generally 
accepted  among  scientific  men  because  the  terms 
and  distinctions  used  in  such  system  are  objective 
and  of  very  wide  applicability.  Psychologists 
were  once  given  to  the  construction  of  subjective 
systems  of  classification  but  they  have  now  passed 
beyond  that  stage.  Unfortunately  however,  some 
sociologists  are  still  given  to  the  promulgation  of 
fantastic  systems  of  classification  that  have  not 
the  slightest  claim  to  universal  validity. 

TRANSCRIBING 

The  system  of  classification  to  be  used  in  the 
given  study  having  been  decided  upon,  the  investi- 
gator now  considers  the  problems  of  transferring 
his  data  from  the  schedules  to  tabular  forms.    In 

75  The  Trait  Book,  Eugenics  Record  Office  Bulletin,  No.  6,  1912. 


204     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

ordinary  investigations  made  by  small  private 
agencies  in  one-time  studies  like  social  surveys 
which  are  not  to  be  repeated,  the  data  are  usually- 
transferred  by  hand.  Items  should  be  taken  off 
systematically,  according  to  a  prepared  scheme  of 
tabulation  so  that  by  taking  off  several  factors  in 
combination  time  may  be  economized  in  one  hand- 
ling of  the  schedule.  Whenever  possible  it  is 
desirable  to  avoid  going  over  schedules  several 
times  to  compare  related  facts.  Such  related 
facts  as  cause  of  sickness,  age,  and  sex  might  be 
taken  off  on  a  trial  tabulation  with  the  list  of 
causes  of  death  written  in  a  verticle  column  and  a 
stub  with  ages  written  in  the  box  captions  horizon- 
tally across  the  top,  and  sex  differences  indicated 
under  the  appropriate  captions  and  opposite  the 
appropriate  stub  designation,  in  red  for  females 
and  blue  for  males. 

Compilation  for  sub-totals  is  facilitated  by 
counting  in  fives  or  tens,  making  four  short  verti- 
cal m^arks  to  represent  four  items  and  an  oblique 
mark  crossing  them  for  the  5th.,  thus  ||||.  Four 
dots  may  be  made  in  a  row  and  a  line  drawn 
through  for  the  5th.  case,  thus  .  .  .  .  When 
this  process  is  ended  addition  may  be  completed 
by  counting  five  at  a  time  and  entering  the  result- 
ing totals  in  distinctive  ink  or  pencil. 

In  investigations  of  considerable  size  where 
great  numbers  of  schedules  involving  hundreds  of 
thousands  and  millions  of  items  are  concerned, 
the  data  are  transferred  from  the  schedules  to 


EDITING  FIELD  WORK  DATA  205 

punched  cards  by  means  of  special  machinery. 
This  method  is  followed  in  government  census 
work  and  in  the  statistical  departments  of  large 
corporations.  The  punched  card  (see  figure  14) 
mediates  between  the  schedule  and  the  primary 
table.  The  data  which  appear  on  the  schedules 
and  which  it  is  proposed  to  tabulate  are  trans- 
ferred to  a  specially  prepared  card  called  a 
** punch  card''  by  means  of  perforations  made  by 
the  ** punch  machine."  The  punched  cards  are 
then  subjected  to  verification  by  means  of  a  **  ver- 
ifying machine''  and  finally  run  through  the 
** counter  and  sorter,"  a  machine  which  auto- 
matically sorts  the  cards  and  segregates  them  in 
accordance  with  the  various  classes  of  related 
facts  to  be  tabulated.  This  process  greatly  sim- 
plifies the  final  preparation  of  the  tables  and  makes 
it  easily  possible  to  secure  many  correlations  of 
data  which  are  not  feasible  under  the  old  hand 
methods,  except  at  great  expense.  This  machin- 
ery for  card  punching,  verification,  counting,  and 
sorting  may  be  operated  by  electric  power.  With 
this  equipment  it  has  been  possible  to  punch  eleven 
cards  a  minute  or  six  hundred  and  fifty  three 
cards  an  hour  with  an  error  of  less  than  one  per 
one  hundred  cards.  Figure  14  illustrates  the 
punch  cards  and  the  machinery. 

TABULATION 

We  have  already  considered  the  extent  to  which 
the  system  of  tabulation  used  in  reports  influences 


.             MASSACHUSETTS  BUREA 
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EDITING  FIELD  AVORK  DATA  207 

the  structure  of  the  schedule  and  the  type  of 
inquiry.  We  must  now  consider  the  technique  of 
tabulation  itself.  Tabulation  is  a  special  form  in 
which  to  present  a  classification  of  social  mass 
phenomena.  It  is  important  when  determining 
the  scheme  of  classes  to  be  used  in  the  tabulation 
to  select  distinctions  that  are  socially  significant. 
A  purely  mechanical  tabulation  by  equal  age' 
periods  would  not  be  socially  significant  for  such 
important  lines  of  division  as  the  age  of  legal 
majority,  militia  age,  the  child  bearing  age,  the 
age  of  compulsory  school  attendance,  and  age 
limits  specified  in  child  labor  laws.  It  is  there- 
fore important  to  keep  the  mechanics  of  tabulation 
from  intruding  unduly  upon  the  data.  It  is  of 
fundamental  importance  also  to  arrange  data  so 
that  they  are  comparable  with  previous  classifica- 
tions. This  principle  if  often  violated  in  practice 
and  whenever  neglected  reduces  the  value  of  ma- 
terial by  sacrificing  comparability  of  data. 

While  it  is  desirable  to  avoid  too  detailed  tab- 
ulation of  data,  it  is  important  to  represent  fairly 
the  significance  of  the  data  by  the  detail  of  tabula- 
tion. It  is  unfortunate  to  impose  a  significance 
not  inherent  in  the  data  by  a  classification  that 
goes  into  exaggerated  detail. 

In  general,  it  is  helpful  to  make  a  distinction 
between  two  types  of  tabulation :  First  the  prim- 
ary or  general  purpose  table;  and  second,  the  sec- 
ondary or  special  purpose  table.  The  former  is 
but  one  step  removed  from  the  original  entries  on 


208     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

the  schedules  and  is  designed  to  bring  together  in 
the  most  convenient  and  accessible  form  all  the 
data  bearing  upon  a  given  studj^ 

In  the  construction  of  primary  or  general  pur- 
pose tables  the  statistician  is  under  pressure  to 
include  within  his  tabulation  all  of  the  data  and 
yet  to  restrict  the  table  to  the  capacity  of  the 
page.  It  is  important  to  determine  whether  the 
given  arrays  of  data  can  be  best  exhibited  in 
columns  or  in  rows.  Such  an  extraneous  fact  as 
the  vertical  and  horizontal  capacity  of  the  page  is 
often  the  determining  factor  in  reaching  a  deci- 
sion. It  is  perfectly  obvious  that  the  maximum 
number  of  lines  or  rows  is  several  times  greater 
than  the  maximum  number  of  columns  since  the 
traditional  form  of  the  printed  page  is  an  oblong. 
It  is  usually. the  case  therefore  that  arrays  that 
have  the  greatest  number  of  items  are  assigned  to 
columns  and  other  arrays  to  rows.  The  student 
should  compare  the  following  tabular  presenta- 
tions of  home  conditions  of  wage  earning  women 
showTi  in  figures  15  and  16.  Considering  sub- 
captions,  the  subordinate  categories  under  the 
main  heading  ** Position  in  the  Family/'  are  six 
in  number  in  figure  15,  as  compared  with  the  four 
sub-captions  under  the  general  heading  **  Con- 
jugal Condition, '^  in  figure  16.  The  capacity  of 
the  page  would  suggest  that  the  main  heading 
Conjugal  Condition  appear  in  the  caption  or  hori- 
zontal and  that  the  various  categories  under  Posi- 
tion in  the  Family  be  put  in  the  stub. 


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209 


210     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

HOME  CONDITIONS  OP  WAGE  EARNING  WOMEN 


-— 

Conjugal  Condition 

Position  in  the 
Family 

Total 

Single 

Married 

Widowed  and 
Divorced 

No. 

P.  Ct. 

No. 

P.Ct. 

No. 

P.Ct. 

No. 

P.Ct. 

Total     

904.695 

100 

14.4 

33.2 

15.4 

17.2 
19.0 

677.772 

73.4 

3.4 

32.0 

14.4 

8.9 
14.7 

97,477 

10.3 

1.6 

.61 

.32 

6.2 
1.6 

129,496 

14  5 

Heads    of    Fami- 
lies     

130,725 

304,955 

139,998 

155,987 
173,020 

31,626 

294,571 

131,007 

86,113 
134,405 

15,712 

5,543 

3,535 

57,935 
14,752 

83,387 
4,841 
5,456 

11,939 

22,873 

9  02 

Living    with    Fa- 
ther      

Living  with 
Mother    

Living  with  other 
Relatives    

Boarding    

.53 

.60 

2.08 
2.41 

Figure  16.     Tabulation.     Arrangement  B. 

As  we  have  already  indicated,  the  stub  of  a  sta- 
tistical table  is  the  vertical  series  of  terms  of 
classification  that  appear  in  the  left-hand  column. 
Reading  as  it  is  customary  to  do  from  left  to  right, 
one  is  able  to  follow  the  numerical  variations  of 
the  items  through  the  sequence  of  categories 
appearing  at  the  heads  of  the  columns.  These  lat- 
ter are  called  captions  and  appear  in  box  head- 
ings of  columns  which  follow  the  stub  from  left  to 
right.  Stubs  and  captions  are  divided  into  sub- 
ordinate headings.  The  caption  arrangement 
may  be  single,  double,  triple,  or  quadruple.  As  a 
rule  it  is  unwise  to  go  beyond  a  triple  caption, 
such   as    appears   in   the   accompanying   tables. 


EDITING  FIELD  WORK  DATA  211 

When  the  sub-classes  in  captions  or  stubs  are 
multiplied  more  than  three-fold  the  table  is  given 
a  very  complicated  appearance.  Since  one  of  the 
important  advantages  of  tabulation  is  the  assist- 
ance it  renders  in  visualizing  a  group  of  rela- 
tions, one  of  the  chief  advantages  of  tabulation  is 
sacrificed  by  making  the  stub  and  caption  cate- 
gories complex. 

The  order  of  columns  and  of  rows  in  the  prim- 
ary or  general  purpose  table  may  follow  almost 
any  systematic  plan.  Categories  of  chronological 
or  geographical  order  are  most  frequently  used. 
Alphabetical  order  and  order  according  to  the 
magnitude  of  items  are  sometimes  adopted.  In' 
general  **that  order  should  be  employed  which 
keeps  the  details  of  the  table  most  generally 
accessible.'' ^^ 

It  seems  to  be  generally  true  that  the  compar- 
ison of  like  items  in  the  column  is  much  easier  than 
of  like  items  in  a  row.  The  reason  is  that  when 
the  eye  ranges  down  a  column  of  figures,  variations 
between  items  are  thrown  into  relief  since  the 
digits  appear  directly  below  one  another,  in  the- 
formal  order  of  placement  units,  tens,  hundreds, 
thousands,  etc.  We  often  find  chronological,  geo- 
graphical, and  quantitative  classifications  in  the 
stub  and  qualitative  classifications  in  the  caption. 
But  as  Day  says,  *^The  important  principle  is  to 

7«Day,  E.  E. — "Standardization  of  the  Construction  of  Statis- 
tical Tables,"  Quarterly  Pub.  Amer.  Statistical  Assoc,  vol.  17, 
No.  129,  Mar.  1920,  pp.  59-66. 


212      FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

use  the  column  position  to  promote  the  more  sig- 
nificant comparison/' 

Since  the  eye  has  been  trained  to  read  from  left 
to  right  and  from  top  to  bottom  the  most  conspicu- 
ous positions  in  a  statistical  table  are  at  the  top 
and  the  left.  This  is  true  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
totals  are  customarily  printed  at  the  right  and  the 
bottom.  These  fundamental  reading  hahits  of 
the  eye  are  sufficient  warrant  for  placing  totals 
at  the  top  and  the  left  when  they  are  clearly  the 
most  important  items  of  the  tabulation.  This 
procedure  is  particularly  useful  when  we  desire  to 
display  the  whole  in  relation  to  some  of  its  parts. 
On  the  other  hand,  since  it  is  customary  to  print 
totals  at  the  right  and  the  bottom,  we  ordinarily 
expect  to  find  them  there.  Whenever  the  reverse 
of  this  procedure  gives  serious  offense  to  the 
users  of  the  table^  it  is  best  to  print  totals  in  the 
customary  way^  Whenever  the  chief  interest 
attaches  to  the  relation  of  parts  to  the  whole,  the 
total  should  follow  the  parts  and  appear  in  the 
customary  fashion  at  the  right  of  the  row  and  at 
the  bottom  of  the  column.  In  such  cases  the  total 
may  be  made  conspicuous  by  heavy  type  or  double 
underlining.  Ordinary  reading  habits  make  it 
customary  to  put  the  latest  date  at  the  extreme 
right  of  the  rows  or  at  the  foot  of  the  columns. 
Wherever  the  latest  date  is  the  figure  of  most 
importance,  this  customary  sequence  may  be 
reversed  and  columns  and  rows  begun  with  recent 
dates,  working  down  to  earlier  dates.    This  of 


EDITING  FIELD  WORK  DATA  213 

course  does  violence  to  the  customary  arrange- 
ment in  sequence  and  where  it  would  confuse  and 
offend  the  users  of  the  table  should  be  avoided. 
Since  the  rule  of  reading  from  left  to  right  and 
from  top  to  bottom  is  already  thoroughly  incor- 
porated in  graphic  practices,  it  seems  desirable  in 
tabulation  to  adopt  a  similar  rule  rather  than  to 
proceed  upon  the  opposite  plan. 

Bounding  and  abbreviating  numbers  is  a  prac- 
tice that  should  seldom  be  adopted  in  primary 
tables,  although  this  method  may  be  used  in  deriv- 
ative tables.  While  it  is  a  good  principle  to  avoid 
rounding  absolute  numbers,  it  is  quite  permissible 
to  do  so  in  the  case  of  ratios.  Eatios  may  be  car- 
ried out  to  two  decimal  places  since  the  first  place 
is  usually  the  only  one  of  significance  and  the 
second  place  serves  rather  to  qualify  the  first. 
According  to  the  emphasis  of  the  analysis,  per- 
centage figures  should  be  placed  next  to  the  cor- 
responding absolute  figures  or  in  a  separate  por- 
tion of  the  table. 

The  structure  of  the  table  should  be  adapted  to 
bring  out  the  significance  of  the  data  without 
doing  violence  to  the  established  practices  in  tab- 
ulation. The  rulings  and  spacing s  for  major  and 
minor  headings  require  different  treatment. 
Accordingly  as  major  and  minor  headings  are 
used  the  amount  of  space  should  be  varied;  sub- 
sidiary parts  should  be  given  less  space  and  less 
prominence  than  immediate  superior  parts.  No 
individual  item  in  the  body  of  the  table  should 


214     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

occupy  as  much  space  as  the  most  subordinate 
heading.  It  is  customary  to  set  off  all  forms  by 
double  lines  at  the  top  and  bottom.  The  sides  of 
the  table  should  remain  open  as  they  appear  in  the 
printed  page.  Completely  boxed  in  tables  should 
be  used  only  for  small  size  tabulations  surrounded 
by  the  printed  text.  As  a  rule  major  totals  are 
set  off  by  double  lines,  both  horizontally  and  ver- 
tically. In  other  cases  only  single  lines  should  be 
used.  In  extensive  tabulations  such  as  primary 
tables  it  is  often  advantageous  to  number  the 
columns  and  rows.  By  these  devices  the  detail  is 
broken  up  and  the  monotony  of  an  elaborate  table 
relieved,  thus  making  it  easier  to  follow. 

Care  should  be  taken  that  items  and  especially 
totals  are  accurate.  It  is  always  necessary  to 
cross-check  totals. 

The  selection  of  a  satisfactory  title  for  the  table 
is  important.  Misleading  titles  should  be 
avoided.  The  title  of  a  statistical  "''^  table  should 
he, a  brief  epitome  of  its  contents.  In  secondary 
tables  it  is  important  to  indicate  clearly  the 
sources  of  data.  In  addition  to  the  usual  refer- 
ence to  title  of  book,  volume,  page,  etc.,  citation  of 
the  table  column  and  line  numbers  should  be 
given  wherever  possible.  Since  in  many  statis- 
tical tables  there  is  a  certain  amount  of  data  which 
it  is  not  possible  to  classify  under  the  accepted 

77  Secrist,  op.  cit.,  Chapter  V,  "Classification-Tabular  Presenta- 
tion." 


EDITING  FIELD  WORK  DATA  215 

categories,  it  is  often  necessary  to  provide  a  sup- 
plementary column  or  row  with  the  heading  **  mis- 
cellaneous,*' **not  stated,'*  ** unclassified,'*  ^*all 
other,"  or  **  unknown."  Explanatory  notes 
should  always  be  given  in  order  that  the  person 
who  uses  the  table  may  clearly  understand  its 
limitations.  Such  qualifying  statements  should 
be  placed  in  a  sufficiently  conspicuous  position  so 
that  they  may  not  be  overlooked  by  the  average 
reader. 

Although  most  statistical  tables  read  from  left 
to  right  and  from  top  to  bottom,  there  is  a  special 
form  known  as  the  correlation  table  which  reads 
diagonally.  This  table  shows  the  frequency  of 
items  classified  by  groups  in  two  associated  cate- 
gories. 

In  the  construction  of  a  frequency  table  such  as 
the  following  shown  in  figure  17  it  is  important  to 
conform  to  certain  standard  rules  of  practice.  In 
the  first  place  it  is  important  that  the  data  be 
grouped  in  classes  of  uniformly  equal  range; 
second,  that  the  upper  and  the  lower  limit  of  each 
class  be  precisely  defined ;  and  third,  that  there  be 
no  classes  with  the  upper  or  lower  limit  left  open, 
such  as  above  $16,  below  $5.  Tables  in  figures  17 
and  18  should  be  compared  in  this  respect.  The 
significance  of  conforming  to  these  rules  will  be 
clear  when  we  come  to  consider  the  application  to 
the  data  contained  in  them  of  refined  methods  of 
interpretation.    It  is  not  possible  for  example  to 


216      FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

use  simple  algebraic  formulae  for  the  computation 
of  certain  important  statistical  indexes,  when 
these  simple  rules  have  been  violated  in  the  con- 
struction of  a  given  table. 

FREQUENCY  TABLE.  ARRANGEMENT  A. 


Units  or  Amounts 

Frequencies 

Total 

434 

Under  $5.00 

3 

$  5.00  to  $  6.00 

12 

6.00  to       7.00 

40 

7.00  to       8.00 

66 

8.00  to       9.00 

91 

9.00  to     10.00 

113 

10.00  to     11.00 

49 

11.00  to     12.00 

30 

12.00  to     13.00 

27 

13.00  to     14.00 

1 

14.00  to     16.00 

1 

Over  $16.00 

1 

Figure  17.  Frequency  table,  incorrect  arrangement,  because 
class  intervals  not  of  uniform  range,  class  limits  not  precise,  and 
lower  and  upper  limits  left  open. 

FREQUENCY  TABLE.  ARRANGEMENT  B. 


— : : — — ■ —rr-:zz- 

Units  or  Amounts 

Frequencies 

Total 

430 

$  5.00  to  $  5.99 

6.00  to       6.99 

7.00  to       7.99 

8.00  to       8.99 

9.00  to       9.99 

10.00  to     10.99 

11.00  to     11.99 

12.00  to     12.99 

13.00  to     13.99 

14.00  to     14.99 

12 

40 

66 

91 

113 

49 

30 

27 

1 

1 

Figure  18.     Frequency  table  in  correct  form. 


EDITING  FIELD  WORK  DATA  217 

We  may  summarize  briefly  the  advantages  of 
tabular  presentation.  The  statistical  table  sub- 
stitutes method  and  orderliness  of  arrangement 
for  irregular  material.  It  assists  the  student  to 
visualize  a  group  of  relations.  The  result  is  that 
the  memory  is  less  severely  taxed.  Data  of  like 
character  are  most  readily  compared  by  the  use  of 
tabular  arrangement.  The  summation  of  the 
items  of  an  aggregate  Is  facilitated  by  the  means 
of  lines  and  columns  in  a  table.  Tabular  arrange- 
ment also  reduces  to  a  minimum  the  monotonous 
repetition  of  explanatory  phrases  and  headings. 

We  have  now  concluded  our  treatment  of  the 
classification  of  data  recorded  on  schedules.  Sys- 
tematic field  work  provides  social  science  with  the 
technique  necessary  to  collect  and  record  the 
observations  of  social  facts.  Statistical  tabula- 
tion supplies  the  social  scientist  with  an  efficient 
tool  for  the  classification  of  his  data  in  a  way  that 
minimizes  the  personal  equation  of  the  investiga- 
tor. It  remains  to  consider  the  fourth  step  of  the 
inductive  method,  namely  the  interpretation  of 
material  classified  in  systematic  fashion  in  order 
to  discover  an  inductive  generalization.  But  the 
method  and  technique  of  interpreting  the  observa- 
tions of  social  facts  so  that  valid  generalizations 
may  be  drawn  from  them  is  beyond  the  scope  of 
this  book.  Many  valuable  and  careful  works  on 
the  statistical  method  are  available  to  the  student,* 
and  in  these  books  he  will  find  an  adequate  treat- 
ment of  the  third  great  method  of  social  research. 


218     FIELD  WORK  AND  SOCIAL  RESEARCH 

namely  the  statistical  method.  Below,  the  student 
will  find  a  selected  list  of  books  on  the  various 
divisions  of  the  statistical  method. 

SELECTED  REFEEENCES  OIT  STATISTICS 

Bailey,  W.  B.,  and  Cummings,  J. — Statistics,  (brief 
handbook) 

Boas,  F. — Measurement  of  Variable  Quantities,  (alge- 
braic theory  of  statistics) 

Bowley,  A.  L. — An  Elementary  Manual  of  Statistics. 
(elementary  methods  applied  to  English  data) 

Bowley,  A.  L. — Elements  of  Statistics,  (more  ad- 
vanced treatment  of  methods) 

Brinton,  W.  C. — Graphic  Methods  of  Presenting  Facts, 
(standard  book  on  making  charts,  diagrams,  maps, 
graphs,  etc.  elementary  and  practical) 

Davenport,  C.  B. — Manual  of  Statistical  Methods, 
(mathematical  theory  of  statistics  applied  to  biometric 
data) 

Elderton,  W.  P.  and  E.  M. — Primer  of  Statistics. 
(excellent  elementary  treatment  of  theory) 

Haskell,  A.  C. — How  to  Make  and  Use  Graphic  Charts. 

King,  W.  I. — Elements  of  Statistical  Method,  (most 
practical  text  and  manual  of  elementary  methods) 

Mayo-Smith,  R. — Statistics  and  Economics. 

Mayo-Smith,  R. — Statistics  and  Sociology. 
(descriptive  treatment  with  reference  to  method) 

Mitchell,  W.  Q.— Business  Cycles,  (pp.  112-139  dis- 
cusses the  representative  character  of  index  numbers) 

Mitchell,  W.  C. — Index  Numbers  of  Wholesale  Prices 
in  the  United  States  and  Foreign  Countries.  Bulletin, 
Whole  No.  173,  July  1915  of  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Labor 
Statistics,  (the  standard  and  authoritative  reference 
on  the  construction  and  use  of  index  numbers) 

Moore,  H.  L. — Laws  of  Wages. 

Moore,  H.  L. — Economic  Cycles,  (brilliant  studies  of 
economic  law  using  the  tool  of  mathematical  statistics) 


EDITING  FIELD  WORK  DATA  219 

Newsholme,  A. — The  Elements  of  Vital  Statistics. 
(standard  and  authoritative  reference) 

Secrist,  H. — An  Introduction  to  Statistical  Methods. 
(many  examples  of  practical  applications  of  elemen- 
tary methods) 

Secrist,  H. — Statistics  in  Business. 

Thorndike,  E.  L. — An  Introduction  to  the  Theory  of 
Mental  and  Social  Measurements,  (algebraic  methods 
applied  to  psychological  data) 

West,  C.  H. — Introduction  to  Mathematical  Statistics. 
(convenient  statement  of  method) 

Whipple,  G. — Manual  of  Mental  and  Physical  Tests. 
(methods  applied  to  psychological  data) 

Yule,  G.  U. — An  Introduction  to  the  Theory  of  Sta- 
tistics, (standard  reference  work  on  mathematical 
theory) 

Zizek,  F. — Statistical  Averages,  (philosophical  treat- 
ment of  methods) 


THE  END 


INDEX 


Accuracy  and  good  faith  of 
author's  statements,  26-34, 
37-38 

Agriculture,  reports  of,  U.  S., 
38;  state,  41 

American  Red  Cross,  cited,  97 

Analytical  criticism  of  docu- 
ments, 26-27,  37-38 

Anonymous  statements,  criti- 
cism of,  35-36 

Anthropometry,  91 

Arbitration,  41 

Armstrong,  D.-,  cited,  126 

Astronomy,  7,  14,  148 

Bailey,  W.  B.,  cited,  116,  186, 
187,  191,  194,  218;  quoted, 
194-195 

Banks,  statistics  of,  38 

Belden,  E.,  cited,  164 

Berry,  G.  G.,  cited,   19 

Birth  records,  85-86 

Block  study,  methods  of,  54-55 

Boas,  F.,  cited,  218 

Bowley,  A.  L.,  cited,  18,  24,  45, 
71,  114,  115,  118,  119,  126, 
147,  167,  191,  218;  quoted, 
24,  115-116,  120-121 

Brinton,  W.  C,  cited,  218 

Burnet-Hurst,  A.  R.,  cited,  114 

Butler,  B.  B.,  cited,  99,  175 

Byington,  M.  F.,  cited,  99,  110, 
113,  126 

Cabot,  R.  C,  cited,  97 

Carnegie  Institution  for  Ex- 
perimental Evolution,  cited, 
71 

Case  work,  47,  70,  73-97,  108; 
first  interview,  79-81;  logic 
of,  74-79;  summarized,  96 

Census  Bureau,  U.  S.,  38-39, 
65;  state,  41 


221 


Census  methods,  116,  127-147 
Chapin,  F.  S.,  cited,  11,  18 
Chapin,  R.  C,  cited,  191 
Children's    Bureau,    reports    of 

U.  S.,  38,  71,  112 
Civil   service  examinations   for 

census  enumerators,    138-142 
Classification,    6,    16;    sources, 

21 ;  tabulation,  187,  193,  197- 

203,  217 
Clearing  schedules  for  verifica- 
tion, 64-65 
Clues  to  sources  of  information 

in  case  work,  80,  83 
College  statistics,  40 
Commerce,  statistics  of,  foreign, 

39;  internal,  39 
Commons,  J.  R.,  cited,  99,  176- 

183 
Complete  enumeration,  47,   48, 

71,  73,  98,   127-147,  148 
Confidential  exchange,  81 
Constitution  of  U.  S.,  cited,  127 
Corporations,  statistics  of,  39 
Cramer,  F.,  quoted,  198 
Criticism,     analytical,     26-27; 

external,    of    documents,    21- 

24;    internal,    of    documents, 

24-36 ;  summary  of  principles 

of,  36-38 
Cummings,  J.,  cited,  186,  187, 

191,  194,  218 

Davenport,  C.  B.,  cited,  218 

Day,  E.  E.,  quoted,  211-212 

Death  records,  86 

Deduction,  4,  6 

Definition  of  units  of  measure- 
ment on  a  schedule,  167-172 

Documentary  criticism,  19-38; 
summary  of  principles  of,  36- 
38 

Documentary  sources,   15,   19; 


222 


INDEX 


official,    28;    list    of,    38-45; 
consulted  by  social  workers, 
85-87 
Duncan,  C.  S.,  cited,  18 

Eastman,  C,  cited,  99 

Editing  schedules,  48,  51,  193- 
197 

Education,  statistics  of,  40 

Elderton,  W.  P.  &  E.  M,,  cited, 
218 

Elmer,  M.  C,  cited,  126 

Empirical  rules  for  representa- 
tive sampling,  121-122 

Engel,  E.,  cited,  10 

Enumeration,  appointment  of 
enumerators,  139;  districts, 
137-138;  field  work  forms, 
137 

Epidemiological  field  investiga- 
tion, 93-95 

Errors,  32;  margin  in  observa- 
tion, 185;  probable,  119-121; 
sources  of,  71,  77-79 

Eugenics  Record  Office,  cited, 
71 

Evidence,  74-76;  circumstan- 
tial, 76;  hearsay,  20,  35,  76; 
neighborhood,  85 

Experimental  method,  11,  32 

Experimental  psychology,  32 


Facts,  75 

Family  history,  89-90 

Fair  samples,  116-118 

Florence,  P.  S.,  quoted,  169 

Field  work,  14-16;  cost  of 
state  census,  143;  prepara- 
tion for  census,  132-142;  su- 
pervision of  census,  143-145; 
types  of,  46-47 

Field  workers,  census  enumer- 
ators, 139;  collecting  price 
statistics,  171;  selection  of, 
63;  skilled,  53-54;  super- 
vision of,  50-51,  52-53; 
trained  vs.  untrained,  49-51 

First  interview  in  case  investi- 
gation, 79-81,  88,  96 


Fitch,  J.  A.,  cited,  99 

Forms    used    in    census    field 

work,   133-137 
Full  canvass,  127-147 

Generalizing,  116-118 
Giddings,  F.  H.,  cited,  45 
Goddard,  H.  H.,  cited,  72 
Gross,  H.,  cited,  45 

Habit  of  methodical  doubt,  26- 

27 
Harrison,  S.  R.,  cited,  101,  105. 

106,  126 
Haskell,  A.  C.,  cited,  218 
Healy,  W.,  cited,  89,  97;  quoted, 

202  ' 

Health    Insurance    Commission 

of  Illinois,  cited,  54,  71,  196; 

quoted,  62-63,  64-65 
Health,  state  boards  of,  41 
Hearsay  reports,  20,  35,  75-76 
Heredity,  8 

Hill,  H.  W.,  cited,  93-95 
Historical  method,    16-17,   20- 

21,  35 
Hobson,  A.,  cited,  188 
Home  service,  97 
Hypotheses,  6,  78 

Indexing  field  work  reports,  63 
Inductive  inference,  116-118 
Inductive  method,  4-7,   11,   16, 
17-18,    198;    summarized,   6- 
7;  syllogism,  116-118 
Industrial  relations,  U.  S.  Com- 
mission on,  51,  71 
Infant  mortality  study,  65-70 
Immigration    statistics,    U.    S., 

39-40;  state,  41-42 
Interviews  in  case  investiga- 
tion, 79-81,  96;  recording  of, 
88 
Investigation,  15-16,  19;  case 
work,  73-97;  epidemiological, 
93-95;  s&mple,  98-126;  whole 
population,  127-147 

Jerons,  S.,  cited,  18 
Jones,  T.  J.,  cited,  110 


INDEX 


223 


Keller,  A.  G.,  cited,  3 

Kelley,  F.,  cited,  99 

Kellogg,  P.  U.,  cited,  99,  126; 

quoted,  107-108 
Kepler,  cited,  7 
King,  W.  I.,  cited,  186,  192,  218 
Koren,  J.,  cited,  45 

Labor    statistics,    U.    S.,    40; 

state   42 
Langlois,  C.  V.,  cited,   19,  21, 

23,  24,  32,  35,  45;  quoted,  24, 

36 
Legislative  documents,  30-31 
Lindholm,  S.  G„  cited,  110 
Logical    principles    underlying 

case  work,  74-79 
Lot  cards,  12,  13 


Manufacturing  establishniGnts, 
168-169 

Marriage  records,  86 

Massachusetts  state  census, 
130-147;  quoted,  130-131; 
193,  197 

Markets,  statistics  of,  40 

Mayo-Smith,  R.,  cited,  218 

Meaning  of  author's  statements, 
25-26 

Medical  sources,  84 

Medical  examination,  91 

Mees,  C.  E.  K.,  cited,  18 

Mendel,  G.,  cited,  8,  9 

Minimum  wage  commissions, 
42 

Misrepresentation  in  documen- 
tary statements,  28 ;  in  news- 
papers, 29-30 

Mitchell,  W.  C,  cited,  218; 
quoted,  170-172 

Moore,  H.  L.,  cited,  218 

New  York  State  Factory 
Investigating  Commission, 
cited,     72 

Newsholme,  A.,  cited,  45,  218 

Newspapers  as  sources,  29-30, 
33 

Note  taking,  22,  25,  80 


Observation,  inductive  method, 
6,  14-16,  20,  27,  32-34,  49- 
60;  objective  and  quantita- 
tive records  of,  154-155;  172- 
185;  schedule  as  an  aid  to, 
148-156 
Ogburn,  W.  F.,  cited,  10 
Output  rate  as  measure  of  ca- 
pacity, 169 

Partial  canvass,  98-126 

Pearl,  R.,  cited,  18 

Pearson,     K.,     cited,     4,     18; 

quoted,  5 
Peirce,  C.  S.,  cited,  4,  18,  116, 

126 
Perry,  C.  A.,  cited,  176,  183- 

185 
Phrasing    of    questions    on    a 

schedule,  172-175 
Pittsburgh  Survey,  99,  175 
Price,  167,  170-172 
Probability  of  truth,  36 
Probable    error    of    a    sample, 

119-121 
Property  records,  87 
Psychological  criticism  of  docu- 
ments, 24-25 
Psychological  examination,  91- 

92 

Questionnaires,  165,   170,   187- 

191 
Quantitative      expression      for 

units  of  measurement  on  the 

schedule,  176-185 

Railways,  statistics  of,  40 

Ralph,  G.  S.,  cited,  97,  164; 
quoted,  88-89 

Random  selection,  55,  98,  116- 
121 

Record  writing,  87-89 

Recording  observations  in  case 
investigation,  87-89 

Relatives  as  sources,  83-84 

References,  72 

Representative  data,  55,  98, 
107,  112-116;  random  sam- 
ples, 116-118,  121-125 


224 


INDEX 


Eeporting  on  field  work,  52-53 
Research,  14,  16-18,  21 
Eichmond,  M.  E.,  cited,  79,  80, 

97;    quoted,    74,    77,    79,    83, 

84,  85-8G,  88-89 
Eobinson,  C.  M^  cited,  99 
Royce,  J.,  cited,  117 
Eussell    Sage    Foundation,    99, 

100,  105 

Sampling,  47,  70,  73,  98-126, 
148;  probable  error  in,  119- 
121 

St.  John,  G.  B.,  cited,  109 

Schedule,  12-15,  48-49,  56-61, 
62,  68-69,  128;  affected  by 
tabulation,  186-187,  193-194; 
arrangement  of  inquiries  on, 
164-167;  census,  132-135; 
definition  of  units,  167-172; 
phrasing  of  questions  on, 
172-175;  quantitative  terms 
in,  176-185 

Science,  4,  154,  155 

School  statistics,  40 

Secrist,  H.,  cited,  45,  186,  192, 
214,  218;  quoted,  168-169 

Seignobos,  C,  cited,  19,  21,  23- 
24,  32,  35,  45;  quoted,  24,  36 

Senate,  U.  S.,  cited,  28,  40 

Slingerland,  W.  H.,  cited,  97 

Solenberger,  cited,  172 

Social  agencies,  list  of,  43-45 

Social  evidence,  74-75 

Social  research,  14,  16-18,  21, 
51 

Social  science,  11,  16-17,  217 

Social  survey,  98-109;  methods 
of,  107-110;  Pittsburgh,  99; 
Springfield,  111.,  105-107; 
Svracuse,  N.  Y.,  100-105 

Social  worker,  17,  73-89 

Sources,  classification  of,  22; 
documentary,  85-87 ;  field 
work  data,  48;  newspapers, 
29-30;  outside  the  family  in 
case  work  investigation,  81- 
87,  96-97 


Southard,  E.  E.,  cited,  97 

Statistical  method,  16-17,  21, 
217-219 

Statistical  units  of  measure- 
ment, 168-169 

Statistics  of  agriculture,  banks, 
children,  corporations,  census, 
commerce,  immigration,  la- 
bor, markets,  railways, 
schools,    38-40 

Street  book  used  in  census 
field  work,  133,  136 

Supervision  of  field  work,  50- 
51,  52-53,  63-64,  143-145 

Syllogism,  inductive,   117 


Tabulation,    16,    205-217;    and 
schedules,  186-187,  193,   196. 
197 
Tay|)r,  C.  C,  cited,  126 
Testimonial  evidence,  75-76 
Testimony,  75-79,  85 
Thorndike,  E.  L.,  cited,  218 
Transcribing  data,  203-205 
Trial  schedules,  187 
Typhoid,  93 


Verifying    field    work    returns, 

64-65 
Vincent,  J.  M.,  cited,  45 

Wage  study,  24,  28-29,  54,  113- 

114,    122-124 
West,  C.  H.,  cited,  219 
Westaway,  F.  W.,  cited,  18 
Whipple,  G.  M.,  cited,   32,  45, 

219 
Wigmore,  J.  H  ,  cited,  45 
Witnesses,  75-77,  83 
Woods,  R.  A.,  cited,  99,  109 
Woolston,  H.  B.,  cited,  110 
Workmen's  compensation,  42 

Yule,  G.  U.,  cited,  126,  218 

Zizek,  F.,  cited,  219 


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